Crime & Safety

DA: Man Bilked O.C.-Based Charter School District out of $750K

Jeremy Landau, 43, of Sherman Oaks, was charged with 13 counts of money laundering, two counts of misappropriation of public funds and one count of conflict of interest in a sale and purchase.

A former board member for a Newport Beach-based charter school district was charged today with bilking the district out of $750,000 in what prosecutors called the largest charter school theft in California history.

Jeremy Landau, 43, of Sherman Oaks, was charged with 13 counts of money laundering, two counts of misappropriation of public funds and one count of conflict of interest in a sale and purchase, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said Landau joined the board of directors of California Virtual Education Partners in May 2013. The district operates five online charter schools in the state. In June 2013, Landau asked other board members for $750,000 in district funds, vowing to give the district $3 million in January, prosecutors said.

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Instead, Landau allegedly moved the money between various accounts and never repaid the district, which is funded by the state.

Landau was arrested Monday and was being held in lieu of $750,000 bail, prosecutors said. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Santa Ana.

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--City News Service


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