Accountant Indicted on Embezzlement From County Foster Home
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — A Long Beach accountant awaiting trial for embezzling money from a county foster home has been indicted on similar charges involving another foster home, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced today.
Gary Batchelor (dob 2/11/52) pleaded not guilty today to one felony count each of misappropriation of public funds, forgery and embezzlement in a Grand Jury indictment. The indictment, BA443706, was returned last Tuesday and unsealed today by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Brandlin. Bail was set at $110,000.
Batchelor, who operates a tax accounting service in Long Beach, allegedly stole nearly $200,000 from two group homes operated by You Are the Difference Foundation. The group homes in Compton and Los Angeles serve boys ages 13 to 18.
Prosecutors said Batchelor claimed to be paying federal and state payroll taxes for the nonprofit group homes, but he allegedly pocketed the money instead.
In the first case filed last year, BA435627, Batchelor and co-defendant Steven Smith are charged with embezzling more than $100,000 from Moore’s Cottage. The alleged thefts occurred between June 2011 and October 2013, when Batchelor was a board member and chief financial officer at Moore’s Cottage and Smith was executive director.
Deputy District Attorney Dana Aratani with the Public Integrity Division is prosecuting both cases.
A pretrial hearing for both cases is set for April 22 in Department 107 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
If convicted in both cases, Batchelor faces up to eight years in state prison.
The latest case was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department, the Los Angeles County Department of Auditor-Controller, Office of County Investigations, the California Franchise Tax Board and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.
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About the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey leads the largest local prosecutorial office in the nation. Her staff of nearly 1,000 attorneys, 300 investigators and 800 support staff members is dedicated to protecting our community through the fair and ethical pursuit of justice and the safeguarding of crime victims’ rights.
Contact:
Jane Robison, Assistant Media Chief
(213) 257-2000
JRobison (at) da.lacounty (dot) gov
