Disbarred Tustin Attorney Charged for Embezzling over $469,00 for Gambling

  Posted By CotoBlogzz


Rancho Santa Margarita, CA  - A former vice president of a title insurance company was arrested yesterday by the Irvine Police Department (IPD) and is being held on $300,000 bail,  for stealing over $469,000 from his company to spend on gambling. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) office, Wayne Martin Fong, 50, Tustin, is charged with seven felony counts of grand theft and five felony counts of money laundering with allegations and sentencing enhancements for causing over $100,000 in loss, aggravated white collar crime over $100,000, and property loss over $200,000.

Fong is accused of being hired in 1999 by Fidelity National Title Group (Fidelity) as the Associate Counsel and Vice President. He is accused of being responsible for working with and overseeing contracts with vendors who searched for and obtained missing assets for the company.

Fong is accused of signing a service agreement on behalf of Fidelity with a vendor, Global Discoveries (Global), in March 2009. In July 2009, Fong is accused of contacting Global, requesting by email to have all payments sent to a different account, and providing them with a different email address, phone number, and mailing address. He is accused of embezzling over $469,000 by having payments intended for Fidelity deposited into his own personal account and using the stolen money for gambling.

One of Fidelity's vendors became suspicious about the change in email address, bank account number, and mailing address provided to them by Fong. The case was reported to IPD, who investigated this case. At the time of the crime, Fong was a licensed attorney but has since been disbarred. Fong was also a former police officer in the state of New York.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Marc Labreche of the Major Fraud Unit is prosecuting this case.