Rancho Palos Verdes Man Charged in Scheme to Embezzle $8 Million from Company Owned by Luxury Denim Brand

Four Southern California men are facing federal charges alleging they embezzled more than $8 million from a laundry owned by high-end jeans company Citizens of Humanity.

Luis Mariano Rodriguez, 48, of East Los Angeles, the one-time president of CM Laundry, and three associates were arrested Tuesday for allegedly causing the laundry to pay fraudulent invoices that contained fictitious and inflated charges, and concealing Rodriguez’s role in the underlying transactions, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Since 2007, CM Laundry has been owned by Citizens of Humanity, a Huntington Park company that manufactures more than 1 million pairs of luxury denim jeans annually.

The other three defendants are: Antonio Anguiano, 48, of Riverside, owner of FI Products, which sold personal protective equipment; Terry Jay Mink, 62, of Rancho Palos Verdes, owner of H&T Industrial Products, a hardware company that serviced CM Laundry; and Rene Exequiel Bautista, 43, of Sylmar, owner of Valley Star Realty, which was allegedly used in the scheme under the fictitious business name K&R Industrial Supplies.

The defendants are free on bond and are expected to be arraigned Feb. 1 in Los Angeles federal court.

The criminal complaint filed last month alleges Rodriguez caused CM Laundry to pay more than $8 million after fraudulent invoices were submitted to the company.

“Mr. Rodriguez allegedly orchestrated a long-running scheme that took millions of dollars from his employer,” said Eileen M. Decker, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. “The scheme involved other defendants who also allegedly stole proceeds generated through fraudulently issued bills. All of these individuals must now face the criminal justice system for their criminal conduct.”

The complaint charges Rodriguez with three counts of mail fraud, while the remaining defendants are each charged with one count of mail fraud.

As a result of civil litigation brought by CM Laundry and Citizens of Humanity, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in November ordered Rodriguez and others to pay over $9 million, according to the criminal complaint.

--City News Service