5 Arrested in Telemarketing Stock Scheme

Four men and a woman were arrested Thursday for allegedly running an illegal telemarketing boiler-room operation that tricked investors into buying stock in a phony latex glove company, federal prosecutors said.

The suspects, all officers or employees of Woodland Hills-based Assured International Inc., cheated hundreds of investors from around the country out of $1.4 million, according to the U. S. Attorney’s Office.

Those arrested Thursday were identified as Sam E. Harris, 46, of Thousand Oaks; Henry Perrin, 58, of Van Nuys; Sharman Walker, 47, of Canoga Park; Terry Harding, 30, of Sherman Oaks, and Charles Peterson, 47, of Culver City.

Harris was still in custody late Thursday, pending the posting of a $200,000 appearance bond secured by property, Assistant U. S. Atty. Robert J. Borthwick said. The others were released pending the posting of their bonds, which ranged from $25,000 to $50,000.

The defendants were among eight people named in a grand jury indictment alleging conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud.

Two others, Max Becker, 77, of Newbury Park, and Anthony Durant, 41, with no listed residence, agreed to surrender to federal officials.

Durant will be offered the opportunity to surrender to authorities, while Becker is scheduled to enter a plea Dec. 18. The other five are expected to be arraigned Monday, Borthwick said.

The eighth defendant, Kirk Kuykendoll, 51, of Thousand Oaks, is a fugitive, officials said.

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Prosecutors allege that investors were told that they would double their money when the company issued stock through an initial public offering. A minimum $5,000 investment was required.

Federal officials say Harris had been banned from dealing securities in seven states. They also say he controlled Assured and paid himself and his family hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of stakes in the glove company.