Woman’s home should be none of his businesses

You’ve heard of identity theft. How about home theft?

Betty McDermott has lived in her Toluca Lake house for nearly half a century. It’s a nice home in a nice neighborhood.

But recently, someone new has arrived, and he’s apparently working out of McDermott’s house — or so he wants the world to think.

McDermott, 80, said she learned of the uninvited guest last month when the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office notified her that three fictitious business names had been registered to her address.

What does that mean? It means someone officially listed McDermott’s home as the location for a trio of businesses: Pianka Enterprises, Isles Co. and DMRC Co.

In fact, a check of public records shows that four different businesses were registered to McDermott’s address on July 27 at the registrar-recorder’s Van Nuys office by a Raymond Pianka. It cost $23 at the time to register each business name (the cost is now $26).

So this Raymond Pianka was apparently serious enough about whatever it is he’s doing to put nearly $100 into the effort. He paid in cash. No phone number was required as part of the filing process.

Something’s obviously going on here,” Darla Neal, head clerk in the registrar’s business filing and registration section, told me. “Someone’s setting something up.”

But what? At this point, that’s unknown — at least to McDermott and county officials.

One possibility is that Pianka (or whoever) wanted to add an air of legitimacy to his shell companies, so he registered them with the county. Anyone who searches fictitious business names on the registrar’s website will find the company names.

Maybe he pulled McDermott’s address out of the air. Maybe he somehow knew an elderly person lived there and hoped his skullduggery would go unnoticed.

But this much is clear: He’s breaking the law.

“You’re signing the registration under penalty of perjury,” Neal said. “You’re declaring that everything in the form is true.”

And Pianka’s declarations are patently untrue — that is, unless McDermott simply hasn’t noticed four businesses operating out of her house.

Needless to say, McDermott was deeply troubled to find that an apparent con artist had entered her life.

“It’s very frightening,” she said. “I’m a single woman who lives alone.”

Things got even creepier when mail for Pianka and his businesses started arriving at her house. What was up with that? Would Pianka show up one day to collect his correspondence?

A few weeks ago, a FedEx envelope arrived for Pianka. McDermott said she called FedEx and was instructed to open it and see what was inside. It was a Visa debit card in Pianka’s name.

McDermott was now completely freaked. She contacted her local city councilman, Tom LaBonge, who assigned a staffer to look into the situation.

“Betty McDermott is one of the great residents of Toluca Lake,” LaBonge told me. “She’s opened up her home to all different types of events. And now someone’s trying to scam her. It’s a real shame.”

If McDermott’s name seems at all familiar, that’s because she graced these pages in 2001 after a memorial was held in Santa Barbara for her brother, Lt. Col. Ross Fobair, whose plane was the first to be shot down by a surface-to-air missile in the Vietnam War.

Fobair’s fate was unknown for years. In 1973, the North Vietnamese announced that he’d died but provided no details. Fobair remained officially unaccounted for until late 2000, after one of his teeth and pieces of his uniform were found near the site of the plane crash, about 45 miles outside Hanoi.

“I’ve learned that the unbearable can be bearable with the support of MIA families,” McDermott said at the memorial ceremony.

Now she has a new burden to bear.

McDermott filed a complaint about the Pianka mess with the Postal Service. She also went to the police to file a report, but that wasn’t very encouraging.

“The officer said that I haven’t been victimized, so there was nothing they could do,” McDermott recalled.

So she came knocking at my door.

Sadly, there’s not much that can be done at this point. I’ve encouraged her to bring her case to the county district attorney’s office. I’ve also advised her to contact the state attorney general.

But until Pianka (or, again, whoever) commits an act of fraud against someone else or some other illegal action involving these fictitious businesses, it seems unlikely anyone will be able to do anything.

If nothing else, the case highlights how easy it is for someone to use another person’s address for a business-name filing. More safeguards should be built into the system, such as having to display a deed, lease or rental agreement for a business address at the time of filing.

“This is something we need to look at from a legislative perspective,” LaBonge agreed. “We need to look to Sacramento for some assistance.”

Any lawmakers listening?

David Lazarus’ column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com