Pyramid Victims Accused of Scam of Their Own

Call it a chain of crime. A month after three guys from Camarillo lost big money in a pyramid scam in Los Angeles County, the trio have been charged with operating their own get-rich-quick scheme in Ventura County, authorities said.

Deputies say the men were conducting seminars in Ventura touting something called “Go-4-Success,” a plan requiring investors to pony up $2,000 each.

“They all promised that if the plan worked well and enough investors participated, there was a chance for people to make thousands and thousands of dollars on a weekly or monthly basis,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Bailey.

Acting on a tip, detectives posed as potential investors at the meetings and arrested Metua Ngarupe, 41, David Kanongataa, 51, and Frank AhSue, 42. They have been charged with operating an “endless chain,” a felony.

The trio say their business was legal because they were selling products, Bailey said. For their money, investors got a camera, travel vouchers and a telephone calling card worth about $350.

It’s all illegal, deputies say, because it requires an endless stream of investors.

The men allegedly concocted their plan after investing $6,000 in the Family and Friends Social Club, a massive pyramid scheme busted last month in Hollywood.

Talk about Going-4-Broke.

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Crime’s gone online. Oxnard residents who want to know about the crime rate in their neighborhoods can visit the Oxnard Police Department’s Web site, which is packed with news you can use.

At https://www.oxnardpd.org, Web crawlers will find a detailed map showing where violent crime has occurred in the city and monthly crime totals. There are also tips on crime hot spots, pictures of cops and job information.

The site divides the city into beats and identifies the cops who patrol them. There are also descriptions of wanted suspects.

One hot spot profiled recently by Det. Felice Epps is about a neighborhood just north of the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center where garage burglaries have been on the rise in the last month.

Twenty garages between Wooley Road and Hemlock Street and Patterson Road and Victoria Avenue have been hit, Epps said. Nearly every garage that has been burglarized faces an alleyway, making it easier for burglars to get away unnoticed.

The burglars are stealing tools, air compressors, generators, car jacks and anything else that can be resold for cash.

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The sheriff’s K-9 squad has a couple of reasons to let out a happy howl.

The unit, which is the largest of its kind between Los Angeles and San Jose, recently received a $10,000 donation, said Capt. Kenton Rainey.

The money is enough to buy another dog and train it, Rainey said--$5,000 for the dog and $5,000 for training.

Currently, the four-legged force numbers six. Each dog is paired with a deputy. If the money is not used to add a seventh member, it could be used to replace a dog nearing retirement age.

Last year, sheriff’s K-9 units assisted in finding $78,000 worth of narcotics, mainly methamphetamines, heroin and cocaine stashed in hidden compartments in cars, Rainey said.

Meanwhile, who says a dog isn’t woman’s best friend?

Deputy Nancy Alaniz, the unit’s first female handler, won first-place honors last month with her dog, Kim, at a national K-9 competition in Redondo Beach and an international competition in Bakersfield.

“It’s fun,” said Alaniz, 32. “You get to go out to all sorts of calls and start searching.”

Sounds sort of like my job.

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I was walking back to my office after grabbing a burger last week when I spotted one of Ventura’s finest standing next to a shiny white rocket on California Street.

After years of straddling Kawasakis, Ventura cops may be switching to pricier BMWs, the officer said.

One of the German-made rides arrived at the department just before Memorial Day, and the cop I talked to said he’d been lucky enough to test it for a couple of weeks.

The officer hadn’t been in hot pursuit yet, but said the new bike gripped corners like nobody’s business. The BMWs also have anti-lock brakes and heated handgrips, if you please.

On the flip side, they cost nearly twice as much. A loaded BMW police motorcycle runs about $17,000.

If Ventura police decide to go for it, they will join Simi Valley police and the California Highway Patrol as BMW owners.

If not, they still have the Kawasakis and a couple of hogs--er, Harleys--in the fleet.