‘Mercenary group’ with ex-L.A. County deputies hired in extortion scheme, feds allege
Federal prosecutors unveiled charges Monday against four former law enforcement and military officers accused of using threats to extort an Irvine man for nearly $37 million, plus his lucrative business.
The men, whom officials dubbed a “mercenary group,” allegedly entered the victim’s home in 2019 under the guise of a legitimate law enforcement operation. They detained the victim, his wife and their two sons for hours, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
Their target — identified only as Victim 1 — was allegedly slammed against a wall, choked and threatened with being deported.
Prosecutors said Victim 1 signed documents relinquishing his multimillion-dollar interest in a business, Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology Co. Ltd., a China-based rubber chemical manufacturer.
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The raid was allegedly financed by a wealthy Chinese national — an unindicted co-conspirator — with whom the victim shared the business. The two had an ongoing dispute regarding their ownership interests, prosecutors said.
The indictment, filed Aug. 1, charges Steven Arthur Lankford, 68, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy who stopped working for the department in 2020; and Glen Louis Cozart, 63, of Upland, a former Sheriff’s Department deputy, with conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion, conspiracy against rights and deprivation of rights under color of law.
Lankford allegedly flashed his sheriff’s badge before entering the victim’s home on June 17, 2019. Lankford served as an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy from around 1984 until March 2017, when he retired as a homicide detective, but from July 2017 through approximately April 2020, he worked as a “hire-back” or “reserve” deputy with the department, according to the indictment.
In 1992, Cozart — who was working at the Temple City sheriff’s station at the time — was arrested on suspicion of planting false evidence, filing a false report and lying in court while under oath. He initially pleaded no contest to three counts of perjury, but withdrew his plea as he was about to be sentenced.
U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada said at a news conference Monday that it “would not defy logic” to believe Lankford had “taken the law into his own hands” before, although he said he wasn’t aware if Lankford previously had been charged with a crime.
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Estrada thanked Sheriff Robert Luna for his department’s “cooperation and collaboration” with the FBI’s investigation of Lankford, who was ultimately fired from his reserve deputy job.
The sheriff’s department said Monday in a statement: “These allegations do not reflect the values of the dedicated men and women of our Department. We are fully cooperating with federal authorities to ensure a comprehensive investigation and accountability for any misconduct.”
Federal authorities in a news release indicated the Chinese national is a woman but Estrada declined to name her, saying the investigation, which has already spanned five years, remains ongoing.
Also charged in the federal case are Max Samuel Bennett Turbett, 39, a United Kingdom citizen and former member of the British military; and Matthew Phillip Hart, 41, an Australian citizen and former member of the Australian military.
The men could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. It’s not clear whether they have retained attorneys. The defendants pleaded not guilty and were ordered released on bond.
“It is critical that we hold public officials, including law enforcement officers, to the same standards as the rest of us,” Estrada said in a statement. “It is unacceptable and a serious civil rights violation for a sworn police officer to take the law into his own hands and abuse the authority of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”
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According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Victim 1’s business dispute resulted in at least three lawsuits in China and one in Atlanta. The Chinese national alleged in an October 2013 court filing that China had issued a “red notice” for Victim 1.
Prosecutors said Victim 1 believed the notice, a request issued by INTERPOL to law enforcement worldwide that can lead to a person’s detention, was linked to their business dispute.
The wealthy Chinese national allegedly reached out to Turbett, who owns an Australia-based private investigation and asset recovery business, in December 2018 for help locating and recovering assets from Victim 1.
According to the indictment, the boss in China said the litigation was not “the smart way” to handle the dispute with the victim and asked Turbett to find a different “solution to finish the problem.”
The Chinese national allegedly promised Turbett that if he helped her, “we can both retire.”
Turbett and the woman drafted purported settlement agreements in June 2019 calling for Victim 1 to transfer assets — including nearly $37 million in cash along with lucrative shares in the business — to the unindicted co-conspirator, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
From there, prosecutors say, Turbett hired Cozart, who owns and operates a San Bernardino County-based private investigation and security services company, to find the victim and get a team together to obtain his signature on the agreements.
Cozart allegedly hired Lankford, who searched the victim’s name and date of birth using his Sheriff’s Department terminal, in violation of department policy.
After Turbett and Hart flew from Australia to L.A., prosecutors say the men met with Cozart and Lankford to make plans for the bogus raid.
On that June morning in 2019, according to the federal indictment, Lankford drove Cozart, Hart and Turbett to the victim’s home in an unmarked Sheriff’s Department vehicle. After approaching the victim outside his home, Lankford allegedly identified himself as a police officer and showed his badge. Cozart falsely identified himself as an immigration officer, according to the indictment.
The group allegedly detained Victim 1, his wife and their two sons — a 4-year-old and his elder brother, 21 — for hours in their home. When Lankford showed Victim 1 a printout of the Red Notice, the victim tried to explain that the charges were not true and asked for a lawyer, according to the indictment.
Lankford allegedly told Victim 1 that if he reported the incident, he would be arrested and deported.
Once the defendants left his home, Victim 1 immediately contacted the Irvine Police Department. When speaking to an Irvine police officer, according to federal prosecutors, Lankford falsely claimed to have been at the victim’s home for a legitimate law enforcement purpose, maintaining that the victim had consented to all parties being in his home and that no force had been used.
“That was a lie,” Estrada said. “This was a violation of his civil rights.”
The defendants had all received their payday by November 2019, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. The unindicted co-conspirator paid Turbett’s company approximately $419,813.
She also allegedly emailed Turbett to thank him for a “very good job,” according to the indictment.
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