Warning Goes Out on Money Orders : Riot aftermath: Thousands were stolen during the unrest. They are now void, but holders are trying to cash in. At least one arrest is made.

Shabtay Bittay claims he was only selling a gold bracelet, and that he got paid $1,200 in money orders that are supposed to be as good as cash.

But authorities have arrested Bittay, a North Hollywood laborer, and say he is the first person in post-riot Los Angeles to try to cash in on the tens of thousands of money orders that were stolen during the civil unrest six weeks ago. They say the TravelersExpress money orders Bittay tried to pass were stolen at a liquor store and were null and void because they had been reported stolen or destroyed by fire.

In the wake of the riots, authorities with the multi-agency L.A. Recovery Anti-Fraud Task Force are trying to round up the suspects who, like Bittay, are accused of trying to sell, cash or deposit the money orders.

Deputy City Atty. Ellen Pais said Monday that task force members are trying to track down other suspects “so they can be uniformly prosecuted and so we can get an assessment of how many cases are out there and what is happening.”

“It is a problem,” said Pais, a task force coordinator. “But how much money is involved, I couldn’t even begin to guess.”

What has authorities especially concerned is that looters stole more than money orders. They also stole the machines that are used to imprint the value on them.

On June 2, City Atty. James K. Hahn issued a public alert, warning consumers and business owners to be wary of any money orders presented to them and to call the various money order companies before accepting the documents to determine if they are among those believed stolen.

Hahn said that money orders are being sold on the streets and used in neighborhood stores. He added that anyone who buys one or accepts one as payment will be out their money, since the orders have been invalidated and are worthless.

Bittay, 29, was arrested last week after trying to deposit the money orders into his account at a Bank of America branch at 7800 W. Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. He is charged in a three-count criminal complaint with trying to pass worthless and illegal money orders and faces three years in prison and $3,000 in fines. Investigators say they don’t believe that Bittay was involved in looting.

Bittay, an Israeli native, could not be reached for comment. In interviews with police, he said he got the money orders from another Israeli named Julia, whom he met at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in West Hollywood. He said he needed money and that he gave the woman an 18-carat bracelet in exchange for four money orders, each worth $300. Bittay said he did not know they were stolen and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment June 11.

A July 1 trial date has been set, and Bittay--who was released on $5,233 bail--will be assigned a public defender later this week, authorities said.

Bittay was arrested because bank tellers recalled the public warning, became suspicious of his actions and called TravelersExpress, which said they were stolen. While still at the counter, Bittay became anxious about the delay and said to the tellers, “What is the problem? Just give me my money orders back,” according to a police report.

When two patrol officers arrived at the bank, Bittay started acting “very nervous,” the report said.

Authorities said the problem could become widespread, and that money orders should only be bought from authorized sellers such as banks and the money-order companies themselves.

“There is no way to crack down on this,” Pais said. “The only thing we can do is to warn consumers and to warn vendors to be cautious.”