Mayor Ed Lee and SF Neighbor Alliance, the bogus grassroots effort that pooped out the cringe-worthy Run, Ed, Run campaign, are under fire this week after witnesses revealed to The Chronicle that they had observed workers at a Chinatown voting station on Friday filling in absentee ballots for voters. The Chronicle reports: more ›

United Commercial Bank CEO Thomas Wu and vice presidents Ebrahim Shabudin and Thomas Yu were hit with federal charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission after accepting a whopping $298 million taxpayer bailout for bogus numbers. "They now have the distinction of being the first senior executives of a bank that received federal bailout funds to be criminally charged in connection with a scheme to defraud the government and American taxpayers," notes SF Examiner. more ›

A little fact-checking might've helped a Glen Park mother from essentially throwing away thousands of dollars this week. According to SF Weekly, 'A San Francisco woman living in Glen Park received a call from a man who said he was in Spain. The man told the woman that authorities has her son in custody and that she needed to bail him out. The cost: $2,800." And what did she do? She sent this stranger $2,800 via Western Union. However, a phone call later to her daughter-in-law, well after sending the money, proved that her son was just fine. Good grief. [SFW]
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Speaking of recent San Bruno fire news, 42-year-old Lisa Justin and 44-year-old Sonya Smith were convicted on Tuesday of trying to pass themselves off as victims in an effort to get relief aid. The women, who lived about five miles from the Crestmoor neighborhood where the blast occurred, had applied for new identification cards using addresses located in Crestmoor. They pleaded no contest to robbery and perjury charges and face maximum sentences of two years in state prison. There are reportedly five other people facing similar charges. more ›

In a failed effort to get "free food and other aid," four people were arrested on Tuesday after allegedly posing as San Bruno explosion victims. SF Chronicle reports: "The four submitted driver's license applications in which they falsely said that they lived in the burned-out area, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. They could have been eligible for free cell phones, gift cards from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and local stores such as Old Navy and Lunardi's Market." Ugh. more ›

A North Beach 'investment consultant' named Joseph "Giuseppe" Viola was indicted in federal court in S.F. yesterday on multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft after defrauding at least 60 people out of $7 million between 2004 and 2010. more ›

The Republican gubernatorial candidates attack on San Francisco's wan morals continues unabated! Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced yesterday the arrest of former San Francisco Unified School District employee Leticia James Coral, 56, on charges of "fraudulently disbursing public money." Yikes. more ›

Canopy Financial, "a pioneer in innovative healthcare banking technology solutions that connect healthcare and financial services" at ranked no. 12 on the 2009 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies, is a total sham. more ›

Ponzi-schemer and former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange Bernard Madoff was handed a 150 year prison sentence by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin this morning. In the courtroom, Madoff explained to Judge Chin, prosecutors and his victims that he thought he could "work his way out" of fraud and that he lives in a "tormented state." Also, he said that he "lied to his brother and sons and that his wife Ruth Madoff cries herself to sleep each night." Bernard, if you recall, plead guilty in March 2009 to 11 federal crimes, including securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, perjury, and false filings with the SEC. Read more about this morning's ruling at Gothamist. more ›

Rumor has it there's more you can do to voice your support for Iranians protesting a fraudulent election than turning your Twitter avatar green. Take, for example, participating in a protest or a rally, like yesterday's event at the UN Plaza. (An aside: we love the color palate popping up at these protests. Green, white and red -- so bold and vibrant without overpowering the eye. Just lovely, really.) more ›

"Former San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew sentenced to five and a half years in prison for fraud & extortion," says CBS 5. more ›

by Tiffany Maleshefski more ›

Oh man. Like... wow. This is entertaining, exciting stuff. more ›

Okay, we're not exactly sure how this works, but it's...bizarre. Seems that a trio of scammers are preying upon the elderly Chinese American community in SF (no, not Ed Jew). What's interesting is their technique. more ›

Oh, Ed. Ed, Ed, Ed, Ed, Ed. This does not seem speedy like you promised. Then again, you promised a lot of things. Sigh. After yesterday's whopping indictment by a federal grand jury, "[s]uspended San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in the city today to expanded federal charges of mail fraud, bribery and extortion," according to the Examiner. Outside the Federal Building courthouse this morning, Jew's attorney said,... more ›

Jew was indicted on charges mail fraud, bribery, and extortion (i.e., his plan to bribe Quickly owners with licensing problems.) Other bits of downfall glory include such antics as accepting $4,000 (in cash!) from the owners of Wonderful Desserts and Cafe, and...well, you know how the story goes. more ›

Oh No, Chris Kavanaugh! Berkeley's own Ed Jew, a Green Party member of the Berkeley rent board who was actually living (and litigating with his landlord) in Oakland, pled not guilty to three charges of voter fraud, one charge of perjury, and one of grand theft (for taking a stipend from the Berkeley rent board) yesterday. Kavanaugh spent Friday night living in the Santa Rita jail before being released on $30,000 bond, and will report back to court on Oct. 26. Kavanaugh has reportedly told other board members that he lives in Berkeley but his girlfriend lives in Oakland. more ›

We're back from our inadvertent hiatus -- here's hoping it's a less busy week for us at the day job and an even more busy week for Ed Jew news! more ›

"Enough is enough," Newsom said to reporters this morning. "He needs to do the right thing and step aside." more ›

Not to be outdone by San Francisco's own zip code fibbing person of the people, Green Party follower and Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board member Chris Kavanagh, according to today's Matier and Ross, "was hauled out of an Oakland coffee shop [Cole's Coffee Shop] in handcuffs today" and thrown in the clink on fraud charges for lying about his Berkeley residence. more ›

We just can't keep Ed down for a day. And we feel sorry for him at this point. Almost. more ›

Ed, you media whore. You get not one, but two posts today? Clever. Anyway, according to ABC7, prosecution just offered a plea bargain to Mr. Ed, one that would have him step down as your favorite fibbing San Francisco Supervisor -- as well as some other gentle slaps on the wrists, we're sure, but for now details of the entire plea bargain are private -- for lying about living in San Francisco, falsifying election... more ›

Okay, there's a very troubling article in today's New York Times about a road trip with Laura Albert (reg. req'd.). more ›

This might be the perfect time for City Hall's favorite cabaret star to hone up on his Kander and Ebb. (Some "Cell Block Tango," maybe?) more ›

There's big legal news concerning the Barry, none of which involves Curt Schilling or Grand Juries. Oh no. Barry has just been slapped with a lawsuit by an inmate in a South Carolina prison, Jonathan Lee Riches (aka "the White Suge Knight), for fraud. No, not for breaking the record while on the juice, but for perpetuating a "Fraud Against Mankind," which Lee Riches calls "Batman and Identity Robbin." The Smoking Gun has the details, but from a quick perusal here are some of the claims made: more ›

In a case closely watched by Silicon Valley corporate types, a federal jury in San Francisco returned a guilty verdict against Brocade Communications CEO Gregory Reyes for knowingly backdating stock options, so they would count as having been issued at a time when the stock price was lower. While backdating is not in and of itself against the law, the SEC says that backdating and not telling your investors about it constitutes criminal fraud. Reyes was convicted on all 10 charges filed against him; 9 of which call for a 20-year sentence. Reyes is 44. more ›

The Chronicle reports that Yusuf Bey's son-in-law, Saleem Bey, 43, who worked at Your Black Muslim Bakery for ten years, was the main source for journalist Chauncey Bailey's unpublished stories about the bakery. It seems that he told Bailey about "illegal bankruptcy and plans to liquidate the bakery," as well as Yusuf Bey IV's numerous arrests and overall lunacy. more ›

SFist Nick forwarded along an unintentionally-hilarious article by professional provocateur Christopher Hitchens from earlier this week in Slate. In this article, Hitchens mostly complains about Conrad Black, the Canadian press tycoon recently convicted of corporate fraud, but check out this kicker at the end! more ›

Here's todays sports news more ›

A fight on the Cal campus last Saturday left a senior with a fractured skull and brain damage and a member of the rugby team looking for an attorney. The resident went outside when he heard someone breaking a window of his co-op (at Prospect and Channing), and got in a confrontation with a guy wearing a Cal rugby shirt. The rugby team had won the national championship that night. The victim claims the rugby player grabbed him by the throat, threw him on the ground, and then hit him on the side of the head. The rugby player, through his attorney, claims the victim was the one who grabbed him by the throat, and that he never broke any window or anything. more ›