Latest news with #LAPD
CBS News
14 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
LAPD reserve officer and his brother arrested for insurance fraud
A reserve officer from the Los Angeles Police Department and his brother face insurance fraud charges after they allegedly staged photos of a crash for a false claim. The alleged scheme started on Jan. 2, 2023, after a customer of reserve officer Eric "Ben" Halem's exotic rental company crashed a Bentley Continental GT. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to the collision and used their body cameras to document the damage before impounding the luxury car. The renter filed a claim with their insurance provider, but it was denied, according to the California Department of Insurance. After learning about the denial, Eric Halem allegedly filed a claim under his personal policy and told adjusters that his brother Jacob Halem had crashed the Bentley on Jan. 5, 2023. Former LAPD officer and current reserve officer Eric "Ben" Halem, 37, was charged with insurance fraud after allegedly staging photos of a crash. CA Department of Insurance Investigators said the brothers staged photos of the damaged luxury car on a tow truck near the alleged crash site. The Department of Insurance added that Jacob Halem allegedly filed a false statement with investigators. After receiving the claim, the provider realized that Eric Halem had contacted them twice to obtain proof of insurance to release the damaged Bentley from the impound lot. They compared the deputies' bodycam footage to the Halem brothers' photos and determined the damage to the luxury car was identical, according to the Department of Insurance.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former LAPD reserve officer and his brother charged with insurance fraud over Bentley crash
A former Los Angeles Police Department reserve officer and his brother have been charged with insurance fraud after prosecutors say they misrepresented details in a more than $200,000 insurance claim related to a Bentley crash in January 2023. Eric Benjamin 'Ben' Halem, 37, a former full-time LAPD officer and ex-reserve officer, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of insurance fraud on Friday. His brother Jacob Halem, 32, also pleaded not guilty to a count of insurance fraud, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Eric Halem's car rental company, Drive LA, boasts a fleet of rare, luxury vehicles, including a 2020 Bentley Continental GT. The California Department of Insurance said in a news release on Friday that Eric Halem told his insurance company that his brother had borrowed the vehicle and crashed it on Jan. 5, 2023. Read more: They said a bear attacked their Rolls Royce. But the real culprit was even stranger But the department's investigation revealed that the Bentley had been rented by a Drive LA client and that the renter crashed the vehicle three days before the brothers claimed Jacob crashed it. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to the accident scene involving the rental driver and documented the vehicle's damage with body camera footage, the insurance department said in its release. After the rental driver's insurance claim was denied because of a lack of proper coverage, Eric Halem filed a fraudulent claim with his insurance company on his personal policy, misrepresenting details of the accident, authorities allege. An attorney representing Jacob Halem did not immediately return a request for comment. It is not clear if Eric Halem has an attorney. Read more: A smashed Polaris Slingshot, friends inside the CHP. How investigators unraveled an insurance plot The department of insurance alleges that Eric Halem claimed his brother had been driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, which they said was on Jan. 5, 2023. They submitted what the department called 'staged photographs' of the damaged Bentley on a tow truck. Insurance department investigators said the damage in the photos the brothers submitted was identical to the damage captured on body camera footage from the renter's crash three days earlier. Authorities allege Jacob Halem provided a false statement to the insurance company investigator to corroborate his brother's claim. It isn't clear if the insurance company paid for the car to be fixed. The department of insurance said the "total potential loss" from the claim was $229,283. Eric Halem was removed as a reserve officer with LAPD in March, according to a department spokesperson. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
18 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Former LAPD reserve officer and his brother charged with insurance fraud over Bentley crash
A former Los Angeles Police Department reserve officer and his brother have been charged with insurance fraud after prosecutors say they misrepresented details in a more than $200,000 insurance claim related to a Bentley crash in January 2023. Eric Benjamin 'Ben' Halem, 37, a former full-time LAPD officer and ex-reserve officer, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of insurance fraud on Friday. His brother Jacob Halem, 32, also pleaded not guilty to a count of insurance fraud, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Eric Halem's car rental company, Drive LA, boasts a fleet of rare, luxury vehicles, including a 2020 Bentley Continental GT. The California Department of Insurance said in a news release on Friday that Eric Halem told his insurance company that his brother had borrowed the vehicle and crashed it on Jan. 5, 2023. But the department's investigation revealed that the Bentley had been rented by a Drive LA client and that the renter crashed the vehicle three days before the brothers claimed Jacob crashed it. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to the accident scene involving the rental driver and documented the vehicle's damage with body camera footage, the insurance department said in its release. After the rental driver's insurance claim was denied because of a lack of proper coverage, Eric Halem filed a fraudulent claim with his insurance company on his personal policy, misrepresenting details of the accident, authorities allege. An attorney representing Jacob Halem did not immediately return a request for comment. It is not clear if Eric Halem has an attorney. The department of insurance alleges that Eric Halem claimed his brother had been driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, which they said was on Jan. 5, 2023. They submitted what the department called 'staged photographs' of the damaged Bentley on a tow truck. Insurance department investigators said the damage in the photos the brothers submitted was identical to the damage captured on body camera footage from the renter's crash three days earlier. Authorities allege Jacob Halem provided a false statement to the insurance company investigator to corroborate his brother's claim. It isn't clear if the insurance company paid for the car to be fixed. The department of insurance said the 'total potential loss' from the claim was $229,283. Eric Halem was removed as a reserve officer with LAPD in March, according to a department spokesperson.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diddy trial week 3 recap: Ex-assistant alleges rape, mistrial bid fails
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' federal sex trafficking trial wrapped its third week on Friday, following a failed mistrial bid and additional testimony detailing the rapper's alleged abuse, including that of a former assistant who accused him of raping her at his Los Angeles home. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges stemming from allegations that he used his fame — while also relying on fear and violence — to coerce women into having sex with male escorts while subjecting them to ongoing physical and mental abuse. At the center of the federal case is Combs' infamous 'freak-offs,' which allegedly involved degrading acts that were often recorded without consent. Prosecutors claim he covered up his crimes through a well-paid network that resorted to bribery, kidnapping and arson. Here's a recap of what happened during the trial this past week: Capricorn Clark, through tears, testified on Tuesday about alleged instances of kidnappings, blackmail and threats that she that was subjected to during the 14 years she worked on and off for Combs. She specifically recalled how Diddy flew into a rage one night in December 2011, after he learned R&B singer Cassie Ventura, his on-and-off girlfriend at the time, was in a relationship with fellow rapper Kid Cudi. Clark claimed an armed Combs 'kidnapped her' in the dead of night to help him 'kill Cudi,' describing how the rapper ordered her to get dressed despite her protests, then forced her into an Escalade driven by a security guard, who in turn took them to Cudi's home. 'I'd never seen anything like it,' she said of his rage. Clark grew increasingly emotional as she described how the rap mogul busted into Cudi's residence and her subsequent efforts to warn Ventura. When Ventura returned to Combs' Los Angeles mansion the following day, Clark said he immediately began kicking' her with '100% full force, in her legs to begin with.' It was one of several disturbing acts of abuse she witnessed the rapper inflict on Ventura. She said she later called Ventura's mother, telling her Combs had been 'beating the s–t' out of her daughter. She added: 'I can't call the police but you can.' Lance Jimenez, an arson investigator with the L.A. Fire Department, recalled for jurors an investigation into a 2012 explosion that saw Cudi's Porsche burst into flames. He said a subsequent search of the vehicle turned up a Molotov cocktail, fashioned out of a 40-ounce bottle of Old English malt liquor and a designer handkerchief. 'In my opinion, it was targeted,' Jimenez said of the fire, adding that the damage could have been significantly worse had the bottle shattered as intended. Instead, it remained intact, forcing the flames to flicker out rather than spread. Jimenez on Wednesday also alleged that evidence, specifically fingerprint cards, linked to the arson investigation were destroyed in 2012 by 'somebody in the LAPD.' It prompted Diddy's legal team to call for a mistrial, a request that was quickly denied by Judge Arun Subramanian. The defense argued the prosecution's line of questioning and Jimenez's answers unfairly implied Combs was somehow involved in the destruction of evidence. Subramanian disagreed, concluding 'there was absolutely no testimony from the witness that was prejudicial in any way, shape or form.' Kid Cudi testified last week that he believed Diddy was the one behind the Porsche fire. Federal prosecutors also contended Combs was responsible and included the incident among several acts of alleged wrongdoing supporting the racketeering charge against him Deonte Nash was hired by Combs as an intern in 2008 after responding to an ad he found on Craigslist. He went on serve as Ventura's stylist from 2009 to 2018, during which time he said they became close friends. On Wednesday, Nash corroborated Ventura's devastating testimony from the start of Diddy's trial, but noted that he didn't 'hate' Combs, despite the violence he witnessed. In one incident, on Ventura's 29th birthday, Nash said Diddy abruptly ended his then-girlfriend's karaoke party because he wanted to engage in one of his marathon sex romps. 'I don't want to freak-off,' she allegedly told Nash, but admitted she gave in because Combs had threatened to ruin her reputation and release the sex tapes if she didn't comply with his demands. The stylist said it was one of several conversations he had with Ventura during which she said she was being forced to participate in the freak-offs. An ex-assistant who used the pseudonym Mia said Combs sexually assaulted her at his 40th birthday party at The Plaza hotel in Manhattan in 2009, and then raped her at his L.A. home shortly thereafter. He also allegedly forced her to perform oral sex at another one of his California properties, and targeted her on other occasions that she said she struggled to recall. Seeking to cast doubt on Mia's accounts during cross examination on Friday, Combs' defense team pulled up several social media posts in which she had heaped praise on the rapper. Mia said the social media site was a place to make it appear as if her life was perfect, even if that was far from the truth. When asked why she continued to work for Diddy if she feared for her safety any time he was upset, as she claimed on the stand, she said the dynamic was complicated. 'He was vulnerable with me quite a bit, so I would feel responsible for helping him, and then I would feel bad for him,' she explained. 'I mean, I can describe it, but I'm not a psychologist or a therapist.' As the trial continues, the jury is expected to hear testimony from a third woman, using the pseudonym Jane, who was also allegedly coerced into the freak-offs and filmed against her will.
CBS News
19 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Police in pursuit of stolen car near South LA
More from CBS News Matthew Rodriguez is a digital producer for CBS Los Angeles. He's previously reported for local outlets like the Argonaut and Pasadena Weekly. Matt typically covers breaking news and crime. The Los Angeles Police Department is in pursuit of a stolen car near South LA. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On
