LOS ANGELES — A former Malibu resident was sentenced Thursday to nearly 16 years in prison for defrauding several people out of more than $3 million with bogus claims he had access to stock shares of Alibaba prior to its initial public offering.

Frank Rosenthal, 48, pleaded guilty in July in downtown Los Angeles to two federal counts of wire fraud.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha ordered restitution of $1.18 million along with the 188-month federal prison sentence, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Rosenthal admitted making false claims of having inside connections at Goldman Sachs that would provide him with special access to purchase discounted shares of the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba before its initial public offering.

The defendant carried out his scheme through a middleman, David Kunkle, by making fraudulent representations and pressuring Kunkle to solicit funds from his relatives and acquaintances for the purportedly lucrative investment opportunity, according to Rosenthal’s plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.

To lend legitimacy to his fraudulent scheme, Rosenthal negotiated and drafted loan agreements and promissory notes with the victims that promised the victims significant returns on their loans and investments, court papers show.

The DOJ said that after obtaining their money, Rosenthal lulled his victims by, among other ways, falsely stating that Alibaba shares had been purchased and sold. Rosenthal paid his earlier victims with money from later victims’ funds.

Instead of using victims’ funds to purchase shares of Alibaba, Rosenthal used the money to support his lavish lifestyle, which included the $16,000 monthly rent of a Malibu home.

A Wednesday night, Nov., 8, event featured a screening of the 43-minute film “Bearing Witness,” which documents acts committed by Hamas against Israeli citizens. The screening was reportedly arranged in part by “Wonder Woman” actress Gal Gadot, who is Israeli.

During the event, protesters carrying Israeli and Palestinian flags gathered along Pico Boulevard. Los Angeles Police Department officials said there were no clashes between the sides during the screening. But clashes erupted later, with video showing fistfights spilling onto Pico.

“One hour after the event was over, a small group of demonstrators returned to the same location,” according to an LAPD statement. “Those demonstrators became involved in a physical fight that has been widely broadcast. Officers returned to the area and peace was restored. Two reports for battery were taken and will be thoroughly investigated. At this time, we do not have suspects in custody relating to the battery, or for any other reason relating to this event.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass denounced the violence.

“We cannot allow current worldwide tension to devolve into this unacceptable violence in our city,” she wrote on social media Wednesday night. “This is a time of immense pain and distress for thousands of Angelenos. We must stand together.”

No details of the tentative agreement were immediately released. The strike will officially end at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represented the studios in the negotiations.

Hollywood production has essentially been at a standstill since May 2, when the Writers Guild of America union went on strike, and SAG-AFTRA performers mostly honored the picket lines. The WGA ended its strike in late September, when negotiators reached a labor agreement with the studios. WGA members ratified the deal in early October.

The shutdown has been estimated by some experts to have cost the local economy billions of dollars, affecting not only actors and writers, but all other aspects of the production industry and even small businesses that rely on entertainment workers, such as restaurants and caterers.

“I am grateful that a fair agreement has been reached between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP after a more than 100-dy strike that impacted millions in Los Angeles and throughout the country,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Wednesday afternoon after the tentative deal was announced. “Those on the line have been the hardest hit during this period and there have been ripple effects throughout our entire city.

“Today’s tentative agreement is going to impact nearly every part of our economy. Now, we must lean in on local production to ensure that our entertainment industry rebounds stronger than ever and our economy is able to get back on its feet.”

Hopes of a break in the negotiating deadlock began arising Tuesday, when Deadline reported that negotiators for the union and AMPTP met via Zoom late Monday night and reached a possible agreement regarding protections and compensation for performers in the use of their images via artificial intelligence. That meeting reportedly included Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, who are believed to have been directly involved in many of the recent negotiating sessions with the union.

AI was a major hurdle in the drawn-out labor negotiations. The union was insistent on securing robust protections regarding AI, while the studios were reportedly reluctant to restrict their use of the rapidly emerging technology.

Deadline, an online entertainment industry trade publication, reported that SAG-AFTRA and the studios had already reached agreement in principle on wages, settling on a roughly 8% increase in minimum rates, along with other long-rate wage hikes and a 100% raise in compensation bonuses for high-performing streaming content.

The two sides met for roughly two hours Saturday and for each of the previous 12 days, according to multiple media reports. The so-called Gang of Four studio CEOs — Iger, Sarandos, Zaslav and Langley — are believed to have taken part in those discussions.

On Saturday, they were joined by an expanded team of studio executives that also included Paramount’s Brian Robbins; Disney’s Dana Walden and co-chairman Alan Bergman; Amazon Studios’ Mike Hopkins and Jen Salke; Sony Pictures chairperson Tony Vinciquerra; and Apple Studios’ Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, Variety reported.

On Monday, SAG-AFTRA announced that it had delivered its response to the Hollywood studios’ “last, best & final” contract offer, noting at the time that the two sides were still lacking an agreement on “several essential items,” including the use of AI.

The studios had warned that unless a deal is reached within the week it will be impossible for broadcasters to salvage half a season of scripted television.

The 2024 summer movie season is also increasingly in peril, as more and more films have been delayed to 2025.

The strike is the longest TV/film work stoppage in the union’s history.

The Producers Guild of America issued a statement congratulating SAG-AFTRA “for their unwavering dedication in reaching an agreement with the studios. We eagerly look forward to collaborating with our fellow writers, actors and director as we collectively work towards revitalizing our industry and returning to work.”

The WGA also congratulated the actors’ union for reaching a deal to address “the challenges the actors were facing.”

“We’re thrilled to see SAG-AFTRA members win a contract that creates new protections for performers and gives them a greater share of the immense value they create,” WGA officials said in a statement.

The Directors Guild of America, which reached a contract deal with the AMPTP earlier this year without striking, issued a statement saying, “Congratulations to SAG-AFTRA on successfully reaching a tentative agreement that addresses the unique needs of their members. Directors and their teams look forward to our industry getting back to work and collaborating with actors, writers, craftspeople and crews to create film and television that entertains billions around the world.”

Individual actors were also quick to speak out about the deal.

“Thank you to all the strike captains … who busted their asses every day on the line for months to ensure we got a fair contract,” actor Nate Corddry wrote on X. “Thank you forever.”

Actor/comedian Paul Scheer wrote simply, “Thank you @sagaftra negotiating team!!”

Actor Albert Brooks cheerfully proclaimed, “The SAG strike is over!! I can finally say it: watch my documentary Saturday night at 8 on HBO/MAX! I can’t wait for you to see it! Couldn’t say a word until now!!”

According to a statement from the union, the committee met with representatives of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — which represents the studios — Monday night, then “spent 10 hours deliberating” on Tuesday.

“We will continue on Wednesday,” according to the committee.

The online trade publication Deadline reported Tuesday that negotiators for the union and AMPTP met via Zoom late Monday night. That meeting, which included Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, led to a possible agreement regarding protections and compensation for performers in the use of their images via artificial intelligence, Deadline reported.

Neither side confirmed the status of those talks.

Such a deal on artificial intelligence would remove a major hurdle from the drawn-out labor negotiations. The union has been insistent on securing robust protections regarding AI, while the studios have reportedly been reluctant to restrict their use of the rapidly emerging technology.

Sources told Deadline that SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and AMPTP President Carol Lombardini had been expected to talk Tuesday afternoon to iron out formal language of the AI guidelines, possibly signaling an end to the actors strike that began in July.

Most Hollywood production has been shuttered since May 2, when the Writers Guild of America went out on strike and SAG-AFTRA honored the picket lines. SAG-AFTRA went on strike in July, a walkout that is now approaching 120 days. The WGA ended its strike in late September, when negotiators reached a labor agreement with the studios. WGA members ratified the deal in early October.

According to Deadline, SAG-AFTRA and the studios have already reached agreement in principle on wages, settling on a roughly 8% increase in minimum rates, along with other long-rate wage hikes and a 100% raise in compensation bonuses for high-performing streaming content.

The two sides met for roughly two hours Saturday and for each of the previous 12 days, according to multiple media reports. The so-called Gang of Four studio CEOs — Iger, Sarandos, Zaslav and Langley — are believed to have taken part in those discussions.

On Saturday, they were joined by an expanded team of studio executives that also included Paramount’s Brian Robbins; Disney’s Dana Walden and co-chairman Alan Bergman; Amazon Studios’ Mike Hopkins and Jen Salke; Sony Pictures chairperson Tony Vinciquerra; and Apple Studios’ Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, Variety reported.

On Monday, SAG-AFTRA announced that it had delivered its response to the Hollywood studios’ “last, best & final” contract offer, noting at the time that the two sides were still lacking an agreement on “several essential items,” including the use of AI.

The studios have warned that unless a deal is reached within the week it will be impossible for broadcasters to salvage half a season of scripted television.

The 2024 summer movie season is also increasingly in peril, as more and more films have been delayed to 2025.

The strike is the longest TV/film work stoppage in the union’s history.

Raudel Sandoval, 48, of Placentia pleaded guilty in March in downtown Los Angeles to two federal counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Sandoval, a licensed tax preparer, owns RSE Sandoval España, a Downey tax preparation company.

He admitted to preparing hundreds of false federal and state returns for clients for the tax years 2015 through 2018. On these returns, he claimed false or inflated amounts of the child tax credit, business losses, short-term capital losses and other items to which the taxpayer clients were not entitled.

He also inflated the amounts of deductions and credits that his clients were entitled to claim, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.

When he finished preparing a tax return, Sandoval gave his clients copies of their returns that were true and correct, but falsely told them he would file those copies with the Internal Revenue Service on their behalf, he admitted.

Sandoval then filed the false returns with the IRS.

Sandoval then directed the inflated refunds to himself, causing more than $750,000 in losses to the IRS, prosecutors said.

A Marine veteran shot and killed 12 people on a college night at the bar in Ventura County. One of the victims was a sheriff’s sergeant who tried to stop the carnage.

“No family or community should ever have to go through what the Thousand Oaks community did that night,” Biden said in a statement. “Yet, in the years since — from Lewiston to Highland Park, Buffalo to Uvalde, Monterey Park to El Paso, and thousands of communities impacted by daily acts of gun violence that do not make national headlines — our country has been devastated by an epidemic of gun violence again and again.”

David Long, the 28-year-old gunman, used a .45-caliber Glock handgun in the shooting before killing himself. Biden said “I am doing everything in my power as President to end the scourge of gun violence.”

“Through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the most meaningful gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years — through dozens of executive actions, through the creation of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, I am taking every action that I can to save lives. I’ve also continued to call on Republicans in Congress to help pass commonsense gun safety policies — like banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and much more — that we know can save lives.”

Several hundred people were in the bar for a country dancing night. Sgt. Ron Helus of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was shot and killed when he tried to stop the shooting. He was a 29-year veteran of the sheriff’s department and left behind a wife and son.

About a dozen more people were shot and wounded in the bar. A number of students from Pepperdine University were at the bar during the shooting.

“Today, our hearts are with all the victims and survivors of the Thousand Oaks attack, and those who are grieving the loved ones they lost five years ago. May we honor their memories by turning our heartbreak into action and ending our nation’s gun violence epidemic once and for all,” Biden said.

Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department responded to a traffic collision with injuries near Coast Highway and Palisades Drive in Dana Point at around 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5.

Deputies found an injured adult man in his 50s lying in the roadway who was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead. His identity is not being released at this time.

A preliminary investigation found that the victim’s vehicle, a 1999 Plymouth, was rear-ended by a 2019 BMW. Deputies found that both vehicles were traveling southbound on Coast Highway when the crash happened.

The Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that the suspect was initially arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence while causing injury, but a second-degree murder charge was later added.

The crash is being investigated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Major Accident Investigation Team.

The car pursuit came to an end near the intersection of Glengary Avenue and Whittier Boulevard around 6:45 p.m. Sunday.

The suspects exited the sedan and were detained nearby at the Travel Inn, according to Whittier police Lt. Sam Reed and a videographer at the scene.

Although it was initially reported as a kidnapping, Reed said that was not the case.

“There was no kidnapping,” Reed said. The man detained had a $10,000 misdemeanor warrant for his arrest, which had originated in Indiana for allegedly contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Detectives from Laguna Beach were en route to Whittier to arrest the two people, Reed said.

The relationship of the man and the woman was not disclosed.

Deputies were summoned at about 8 p.m. on Thursday to a store in the Lake Elsinore area from which more than $2,000 in merchandise had been stolen earlier in the day, according to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Jarrod Meissen.

A store employee told deputies that the same suspects were back and were seen concealing items, Meissen said.

The woman and two juveniles were detained, he said.

“During the investigation, deputies recovered over $10,000 in stolen merchandise from numerous retail stores within the County of Riverside,” Meissen said. “It is believed the suspects were part of an organized retail theft ring operating in the Inland Empire.”

The woman was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and organized retail theft, he said. She was released on bail Friday morning, according to sheriff’s inmate records.

The juveniles were released to a parent or guardian with charges pending, Meissen said.

According to media reports, Sohail Biary from Simi Valley was visiting his parents in Gaza when the fighting broke out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, a result of a deadly terrorist attack in Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Bass said in a statement released Thursday that her office has been working to get Biary to safety and she has been in regular contact with Biary’s son.

“I am relieved to announce today that the employee is now safe in a neighboring country and out of the war zone. I personally want to thank Tom Perez and the Biden administration, Senator Alex Padilla, and Congresswoman Julia Brownley for working with us to arrive at today’s result. We look forward to welcoming our colleague home,” Bass said in the statement.

Hundreds of people with foreign passports have been allowed to leave Gaza to Egypt since Wednesday. Many of those people are Americans looking to escape the war zone.

Gaza has been targeted by Israel with air strikes since October. The fighting began when Hamas terrorists attacked and killed more than 1,400 Israelis.

Biary’s son, Khalid Biary, told the Ventura County Star about his father’s situation last week. Sohail Biary, 53, traveled to Gaza City, his hometown, before war broke out in the area. He works as a district supervisor for the city’s General Services Department and has four children, the Star reported.

“He came here with nothing and started a life here,” Khalid Biary told the Star of his father, saying the elder Biary had sought asylum in the U.S. 30 years ago and settled in Simi Valley.

President Joe Biden was asked by a reporter in Washington, D.C. what his message was to Americans still in Gaza.

“They’ll be coming home,” Biden said.