Latest news with #Pita
1News
18-05-2025
- Business
- 1News
Battle to head off pyramid schemes makes ground
The last three years have not been easy for Pita and Selu Hingano. The retirees in south Auckland lead a humble life and have struggled to make ends meet after losing tens of thousands of dollars in a 2021 pyramid scheme. Pita had seen the Tongi Tupe Nuusila (New Zealand) scheme on numerous Facebook feeds and posts – including live feeds from a business yard in Otara. Every Saturday, Tongans who had invested money in the scheme would line up to collect envelopes of cash from Ofa Siasau who ran the New Zealand arm. 1News exposed the illegal scheme in 2021 when it was at its height. 'Good morning Tongan community come and get some money,' Siasau said in Tongan to an eager social media audience. A promoter of the scheme Tomasi Ofanoa also saying in Tongan, 'get in touch don't wait, look at these people, they are happy to receive their money this morning'. It did the trick. The promise the Hingano's heard was, for every $4500, you wait for three weeks and then get $2500 every week. So Pita put some money in the scheme and as the returns started coming in, he put in more. 'That was my retirement money from my account,' he says. 'I trust her." Between April and July 2021 the amount came to $54,000 – and he got back $27,750 just over half of what he 'invested'. 'My heart is not very happy,' he says. Through Tionly Fatukala, who campaigns against pyramid schemes, they took their case to the Disputes Tribunal. They just recently got the decision – which found in their favour. Ofa Siasau was to pay them the outstanding amount of $26,250 by May 21. However she has since requested a re-hearing and so everything is currently on hold, no money needs to be paid, pending the outcome of the re-hearing request. Ofa Siasau did not attend any of the hearings and she told 1News the Disputes Tribunal 'made the mistake of not advising me by email' about the last hearing date. In its April decision the Disputes Tribunal says Ofa Siasau had wanted an adjournment of a hearing last November saying that the notice of one of the hearings went to her junk mail. The referee says 'I sent her a direction saying in relation to the next hearing she will need to check her email at regular intervals and that I would not be granting an adjournment in relation to the next hearing date if the notice goes to her junk mail and she has not checked it'. The Commerce Commission has recently successfully prosecuted three people for pyramid schemes targeting Pasifika. Joseph Liava'a from the Commerce Commission says there appears to be less of the schemes doing the rounds but the public really needs to be vigilant as 'this type of scam unfortunately never really goes away'. He says, if there is no product or service being sold, it is likely a pyramid scheme. 'We rely on people coming forward, it's embarrassing you know if these things happen to happened to family members of mine and it's difficult for me to talk about but you know I guess that's another thing these scammers really prey upon." Pita Hingano hopes to get his money back but knows it is now a waiting game. 'I'm not fighting for my money. I'm fighting for my right that's the main thing." He hopes that by speaking up it will help others affected by pyramid schemes to get their own justice. For Barbara Dreaver's full report, go to TVNZ+
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Louisiana State Police honored K9 trooper Pita
LOUISIANA (KLFY) — Pita,the retired K9 trooper, was honored for her service by the Louisiana State Police after passing away due to declining health authorities said. Before retiring in February 2024, Pita served for nine years for the Troop D area and its agencies as a member of the Criminal Patrol Unit with her keen sense of smell. 'When she was not locating narcotics, she could often be found visiting schools and searching for as many belly rubs as she could from the kids.' said The Louisiana State Police on a Facebook post. During retirement, Pita enjoyed her final years with her handler, Sgt. Moseley. 'We thank Pita for her loyalty, dedication, and service to the State of Louisiana. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sgt. Moseley and the entire State Police family.' The Louisiana State Police said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now St. Martin Sheriff talks safety at Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Louisiana State Police honored K9 trooper Pita The history behind those extravagant Kentucky Derby hats Small retailers say tariffs are affecting business Circle K visit after volunteering ends with Louisiana man winning $2.4 million Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Florida man killed in Talladega County crash
TALLADEGA COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — A Florida man was killed in a Talladega County crash on I-20 Tuesday morning. Jesus Pita, 52, of Homestead, Florida, was fatally injured around 9:45 a.m. when the tractor-trailer he was driving left the roadway and overturned, according to Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Pita was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the tractor-trailer was also injured. Man arrested after allegedly carrying fake RPG in Alabama The crash occurred near Mahaffey Road, which is about seven miles west of Oxford. The ALEA investigated the crash. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announces three new K9s
NORTH CAROLINA (WNCT) — The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation recently shared their team of K9s on their Facebook page. The NCSBI employs 16 K9s and there are six human remains dogs, four bomb dogs, two drug dogs, two arson dogs, one electronics storage detection dog and one therapy dog. They recently welcomed three new K9s named Pita, Lola and Lobo. Pita and Lobo are bomb detection dogs and Lola assists with the detection of human remains. The NCSBI stated on their post that they use their K9s about 350 times a year in crucial circumstances. The K9s also help other agencies inside and outside North Carolina. Check out the pictures of these precious pups on the NCSBI Facebook page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Legoland Florida in Winter Haven says it will lay off 234 entertainment workers by April
First there was the layoff of Legoland's water skiing show entertainers a few weeks ago. Then on Thursday and Friday, hundreds more entertainment workers learned they too will lose their jobs. 'I have worked in entertainment for Legoland for the past 5 years and love my job,' said soon-to-be let go performer Kristen Pita in an email Friday. 'Tomorrow (Saturday) kicks off the Ninjago Days event and guests have no idea that many of the employees were just told that they are fired. 'First it started with the cancelation of the waterski show and now 234 people are being fired,' she said. 'It doesn't make any sense because the Sea Life Aquarium is opening in a few months inside the park and Peppa Pig opened a few years ago along with the Pirate Island Hotel on property. 'The guest attendance has been great for Legoland Florida,' Pita said. 'This news is heartbreaking and will affect many.' She said many performers, including husbands and wives and fathers and sons, have mortgages or apartment leases to pay and some relocated from other areas, including some who switched from another theme park company to take a position at Legoland. "I love the Merlin company, but this is blindsiding a lot of people," Pita said. She added, "All 234 performers will forever cherish the special guests' moment we had." At meetings held Thursday and Friday, Pita said they learned an outside company would be providing performers for Lego characters in the parks and hotels. Little information was shared about the outside company or whether it would be rehiring the Legoland talent. With 234 employees gone of the 280 within its entertainment department, that leaves 46, mostly performers. Legoland began laying off 234 entertainment workers on Saturday at its Winter Haven theme parks, a notification to employees and Commerce Florida said. 'We regret to inform you that you will be separated from your position within LEGOLAND Florida LLC due to a business restructuring specific to our operation,' the notice said. 'This action is expected to be permanent and will result in the separation of multiple employees.' The notice sent to individual employees said its letter would serve to give the employees 60 days' advanced notice of the restructuring starting Saturday through April 7. The effective date of the employees' layoffs will be March 25. Their health insurance benefits would end by April 1. 'At Legoland Resorts in North America we are making operational changes to help us elevate the guest experience in 2025 and beyond. This includes changes in how we deliver entertainment.," said Julia Estrada, its public relations director for North America. 'The decision to reduce the size of some of our teams was undoubtedly difficult, but these changes will allow the Resorts to operate more flexibly and responsively in a competitive market," she said. 'We will continue to have a core in-house entertainment offering, which we will scale up to meet our brand and guest experiences during the year," Estrada said. "This will include working with a global leader in this sector – who will be providing employment opportunities – to bolster our entertainment provision during seasonal special events. We are confident that the Resorts will still offer high-quality guest experiences, as part of our ongoing focus on creativity and innovation to offer memorable visits." 'We are supporting employees during this period of change and will do all we can to help them find alternative employment, including sharing audition opportunities within the external global entertainment provider.' According to Financier Worldwide, Merlin Entertainments, which has theme parks in Florida, New York and California, is privately owned. Merlin had offered publicly traded stock until November 2019 when it was taken private. Investors include a consortium, such as asset management company Blackstone and the Kristiansen family's investment company, which controls The Lego Group. Legoland announced in December that it would cancel its long-running water ski show — Brickbeard's Watersport Stunt Show. The show was one of the last vestiges of the park's predecessor, Cypress Gardens, which was one of the state's first major tourist attractions. Water ski shows had been performed at the park since the 1940s. In November 2022, Legoland announced in a layoff notice that 519 food and beverage workers would begin working for Aramark Corp. 'All personnel, duty positions and rates of pay will remain the same once the+ changeover to Aramark takes effect,' that notice said. 'All employees who currently possess benefits will automatically change over with no break in service." This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Legoland in Winter Haven will lay off 234 entertainment workers
