Fraud Charges Filed in Inspection Scam

A brother and sister who allegedly posed as county health inspectors in a scheme to extort money from restaurant and bakery owners were charged with several counts of fraud Thursday, authorities said.

Sophia Rebellon, 31, of Van Nuys and her brother, Jose Martin Rebellon, 35, of Santa Monica allegedly threatened six businesses, including three in the Valley, with heavy fines or closure, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for Los Angeles City Atty. Jim Hahn.

Qualls said the brother and sister allegedly told business operators they would be fined if they did not buy three-ring binders containing information on labor law, workers’ compensation, minimum wage laws, health and safety policies, and other topics. They sold the binders for $60 to $200. The U.S. Department of Labor provides binders with such information free of charge, Qualls said.

“[The brother and sister] were telling people that health codes required [the materials] on the premises and that isn’t true,” said Deputy City Atty. Don Cocek, who is prosecuting the case. “They spoke Spanish and the victims were all intimidated.”

The pair allegedly extorted the businesses between last April and August, Cocek said.

In July, Sophia Rebellon allegedly sold a $60 binder to a Van Nuys restaurant, El Chilamatal on Van Nuys Boulevard, after threatening to impose a $5,000 fine for supposed health code violations, Cocek said. She left behind a business card with a telephone number and address that investigators used to trace her and her brother, he said.

In another instance, a county health inspector visited a Huntington Park business a day after the brother had allegedly sold the owner a binder and threatened to close the establishment, Cocek said. A task force of Los Angeles police officers and sheriff’s deputies who handle county health department criminal cases began investigating, he said.

Sophia Rebellon and Jose Martin Rebellon were charged with fraudulently obtaining money and falsely representing themselves as public officers. The brother was also charged with theft and attempting to fraudulently obtain money. If convicted on all charges, Sophia Rebellon faces up to four years in jail and up to $5,500 in fines; her brother faces up to six years in jail and up to $10,500 in fines.

Attempts to reach the Rebellons were unsuccessful.

They are scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 29 in Van Nuys Municipal Court.