VENTURA : Doctor Jailed in Magazine Frauds

A former Santa Paula physician facing trial for sending a refrigerator and thousands of magazines to a Camarillo lawyer’s office was jailed Monday--now accused of sending magazines to a prosecution witness.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles R. McGrath ordered Dr. Reynaldo Fong held without bail until his trial, which is expected to get under way in the next several weeks, officials said.

Fong, an anesthesiologist who recently practiced in Salinas, sent a variety of newspapers and magazines to witness Jesus Manuel, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Simon said.

Manuel is expected to testify that he provided Fong with the number of the stolen credit card number that was used to order a refrigerator in the name of the Camarillo attorney, Simon said.

Fong, 44, began sending subscriptions to Manuel after learning that the man planned to testify against him under a grant of immunity, Simon said. Manuel is a former Salinas furniture store worker who obtained the credit-card number from the account of a customer, Simon said.

The prosecution of Fong began in July, when the county grand jury indicted him on seven criminal counts of false personation for sending the magazine subscriptions to Theresa McConville, the Camarillo attorney. he was jailed when his bail was revoked.

Fong was upset with McConville because her law firm refused to take his case after he was fired from Santa Paula Hospital for allegedly double-billing insurance companies, Simon said. McConville received more than 5,000 magazines in 10 years.

Then, several weeks after Fong’s indictment, she received a refrigerator at her office.