2 Alleged Ex-Employees of Slain Businessman Arrested

Two former employees of a telemarketing company that federal officials say was overseen by slain Woodland Hills entrepreneur Christopher Rawlings were arrested and charged Friday with money laundering, the sale of unregistered securities and mail fraud, federal officials said.

John Dickens, 33, who was arrested in Los Angeles, and Timothy Griffieth, 32, who was nabbed in Las Vegas, both allegedly worked for WRI Holdings Inc., which officials charge promoted fraudulent investments in what the company said were previously unreleased recordings by the Beatles and Marvin Gaye, and other businesses.

Court documents released after the arrests did not implicate the men in the Feb. 10 death of Rawlings, who died of injuries he received after being kidnapped.

Los Angeles police have made no arrests in connection with Rawlings’ abduction, but say they are investigating the possibility that it may be related to his business practices.

Rawlings and other principals in the businesses were under investigation by the FBI at the time of his death, federal officials have said. Federal prosecutors say that the telemarketing companies they ran bilked people across the country out of more than $19 million.

One of the alleged principals, Scott Courtney, is currently awaiting trial in an earlier fraud case. Another, Peter Aro, is at large and being sought by the FBI.

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In a federal court hearing after his arrest, Dickens was ordered detained without bond.

Another of Rawlings’ alleged associates, John Charles Watson, was arrested a few days after the abduction and charged with money laundering and fraud. He has been released on bail.

Police say they were called on the night of Feb. 8 by Rawlings’ wife, who told them that two men were attacking her husband in the garage of their Woodland Hills home. Officers arrived just as the assailants drove away in Rawlings’ Bentley automobile, with him stuffed in the trunk. A high-speed chase ensued, ending when the men sped off the Ventura Freeway at Tampa Avenue and crashed into a power pole, ejecting Rawlings from the trunk.

The car burst into flames and the kidnappers escaped. Rawlings, who suffered severe head injuries, died two days later.