Tag: Lake Forest

Lake Forest City Councilman Denies Domestic Violence Misdemeanors

A Lake Forest city councilman charged with domestic violence said on July 21 that he was innocent of the allegations. Benjamin Yu, 40, was charged on July 7 with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and false imprisonment, both misdemeanors, according to court records. He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 23 in the…


Lake Forest City Councilman Faces Domestic Violence Charges

A Lake Forest City Councilman was charged with allegations of domestic violence, according to court records obtained on July 21. Benjamin Yu, 40, was charged on July 7 with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and false imprisonment, both misdemeanors, according to court records. He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 23 in the…


Southern California Marine Veteran Killed by Russian Missile in Ukraine

A Marine veteran from Lake Forest, California, died June 27 in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, after a Russian missile hit a restaurant he was frequenting, according to his father. Ian Frank Tortorici, 32, has been fighting for Ukraine since traveling there 15 months ago after the Russian invasion in February 2022. He was on leave from the…


2 Women Killed in Crash in Lake Forest

Two women were killed in a two-vehicle crash in Lake Forest, authorities said July 7. The crash at Bake Parkway and Commerce Centre Drive was reported at 10:55 p.m., according to Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Frank Gonzalez. Two women in one of the vehicles died at the scene, Gonzalez said. Both were described as being…


Southern Baptists Reject Saddleback Church’s Appeal Over Ouster Due to Women Pastors

The Southern Baptist Convention—a Protestant Christian denomination with over 47,000 churches nationwide—rejected Saddleback Church’s appeal this week to remain a part of it after the Orange County megachurch in Lake Forest, California, was ousted for having women in pastoral leadership roles. In February, the convention’s leaders voted to revoke Saddleback’s membership “on the basis that…


Man Charged with Ax Attacks in Lake Forest

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—A 32-year-old man was charged May 24 with attacking two men with a pick axe in Lake Forest this week. Tyler Scott Graves, 32, was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, all felonies, as well as three counts of brandishing a weapon and single counts of resisting arrest and…


Man Crashes Into Lake Forest House, Threatens 2 With Pick-Axe

LAKE FOREST, Calif.—A man crashed a car into a house in Lake Forest May 22 and then allegedly threatened two people with a pick-axe before sheriff’s deputies subdued him, authorities said. Orange County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched at 11:54 a.m. to the 2200 block of Robin Street after a gray Kia sedan slammed into a…


Newport Coast Doctor Faces Federal Charges of Health Care Fraud

An Orange County physician and a Los Angeles County lab owner are facing federal charges in separate cases for their alleged participation in fraud schemes involving health care services that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and allegedly resulted in false billings to federal programs and theft from federally funded pandemic programs, officials announced Thursday. Dr. Anthony…


Orange County Man Faces 20 Years in Defrauding Buyers of Gloves During Pandemic

LOS ANGELES—An Orange County man pleaded guilty April 12 to defrauding victims who paid for COVID-related medical-grade protective gloves that were never delivered, causing more than $3 million in losses. Christopher Badsey, 62, of Lake Forest, entered his plea to four federal counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. U.S. District Judge…


Orange County Man Faces 20 Years in Prison for Defrauding Glove Buyers During Pandemic

LOS ANGELES—An Orange County man pleaded guilty April 12 to defrauding victims who paid for COVID-related medical-grade protective gloves that were never delivered, causing more than $3 million in losses. Christopher Badsey, 62, of Lake Forest, entered his plea to four federal counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. U.S. District Judge…