Accountant From Costa Mesa Guilty in $750,000 Forgery

A Costa Mesa accountant was convicted in a federal court of forging checks worth $750,000, which he placed in accounts at two Las Vegas casinos.

Manolo R. Pahamotang, a former accountant with Centennial Corp., an Anaheim mortgage banking company, stole four company checks and forged the signatures of two executives, said Carole Levitzky, a spokeswoman with the U.S. attorney’s office. He then opened accounts at the MGM Grand Casino and the Mirage Casino Hotel, she said.

Pahamotang, 39, took the checks March 20 and resigned the same day, citing “personal reasons and other business opportunities,” Levitzky said. He had worked for the Anaheim company for two years.

“He was a real disappointment,” said Ron White, president of Centennial Corp. He said the company discovered that the money was missing three weeks later through routine checks of bank statements.

Pahamotang was arrested in Las Vegas on April 12. FBI agents recovered more than $750,000 from Pahamotang’s accounts.

At the trial, Pahamotang said one of Centennial’s top executives had loaned him the money, and produced a promissory note. The government established that the note also had been forged, Levitzky said.

After deliberating four hours, the jury found Pahamotang guilty of four counts of possession of forged securities and three counts of money laundering. He is free on bail pending sentencing Jan. 29 before U.S. District Court Judge Robert M. Takasugi. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.