L.A. Sheriff’s dep’t conducts criminal probe on Joel Bander

KFI reports that a criminal investigation was opened on the U.S. lawyer in 2010

By Rhony Laigo

(Editor’s note: The story below is the third of many articles that Balita has been publishing on Atty. Joel Bander, a U.S. lawyer who was accused of molesting a Filipina in the Philippines, and by hundreds of homeowners in the U.S. who claimed they were scammed by him. A newspaper tabloid claimed that the Filipina sexual assault victim was “fictitious” and that the events didn’t place. In our earlier articles, we produced evidence from the court to dispute those claims and we will continue to present to you, dear readers, legal documents and verified claims to show what his alleged victims say about Bander.)

“Preliminary Investigation: After a warrantless arrest, the arresting officer will submit the evidence to the Prosecutor (formerly known as a Fiscal) who will conduct a preliminary investigation to determine whether the available evidence merits the filing of formal charges. Evidence, in this case, may include testimony, complaints, and other sworn statements. The Prosecutor is required to file charges against you within twelve hours of an arrest for a minor offense like ‘oral defamation’ or ‘slander,’ or within 36 hours for serious offenses like ‘fraud, robbery, or rape,’ or to release you.  

If you have been arrested with a warrant, the Prosecutor will determine if probable cause exists and the execution of the arrest was proper. The Prosecutor then has 60 days to file the charges with the appropriate court. However, if the evidence presented by the police is not strong or sufficient to hold you, the Prosecutor can make a recommendation for your discharge and the dismissal of the charges.” (Embassy of the United States, Manila, Philippines: http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwharst.html).

So as not to give any distinction that this article may be biased, this author extracted the paragraphs above from the U.S. Embassy in Manila which is part of its instructions for its citizens who may be facing criminal charges in the Philippines instead of from a Philippine law book that may not be easily accessible. With respect to this article, the person involved is Atty. Joel Bander, who, for some reason, was able to convince a few fake Filipino investigative reporters that the incident that took place on July 15, 2006 was “untrue” and “without basis.” The incident in question involved a Filipino woman, who accused Bander of sexually molesting her at a condo unit in Manila that led to her filing of criminal charges against Bander.

The case was dismissed but only last March this year. And thanks to the fake investigative reporters’ recent article, they showed that there was a dismissal hearing that took place and an order to return the bail that Bander might have paid to the court for his provisional release. They also said that the 2008 warrant of arrest we here at Balita presented to you, dear readers, was withdrawn. Yes, but, again, only last March, this year. 

The fake investigative reporters said “we were two years late,” while referring to the withdrawal of the arrest warrant. But what we only said was that there was in fact a criminal record and a warrant of arrest, both of which we presented in our previous issues. We did so because the fake investigators kept insisting that the incident was “untrue” and “without basis.” They even said that People’s Tonight retracted its own story. Hah, until now, these fake investigative reporters have yet to produce that People’s Tonight article.

We’re also at a loss why they still don’t understand that there should be “sufficient” evidence before a case is filed, not to mention that the Filipino woman swore before a prosecutor, and that the Philippine government has 60 days to file charges, meaning they have to investigate first, which involves tax payers’ money, before they go to the judge and file the case. As stated by the U.S. Embassy “the (Philippine) Prosecutor will determine if probable cause exists and the execution of the arrest was proper” prior to the filing of the case. The Embassy added that “the Prosecutor can make a recommendation for your discharge and the dismissal of the charges,” which means the prosecutor could’ve immediately ignored the case in 2006 when the complaint was filed, and yet it took Bander five years, in 2011, to have it dismissed by the court.

For them to tell us that this was “untrue” and “without basis” is the fake investigative reporters’ own problem. They should ask the prosecutor in the Philippines why they filed the case against Joel Bander, who was charged with “Acts of Lasciviousness”, in the first place. And if this molestation incident didn’t take place – because Bander claimed the complainant was fictitious – why did the court issued a warrant of arrest against their master, er, Bander, two years later? 

It would be recalled that when these fake investigative reporters (who we earlier referred here as dogs to give semblance to their relationship to their newspaper that carries the same name, but because we probably touched a nerve so we will call them instead watch dogs) broke their “most celebrated” article against this author, they said they had a People’s Tonight story that retracted the Joel Bander sexual molestation incident. These watch dogs even said that the same story published phrases that stated Bander was involved in “illegal recruitment charges” and that the complaint was filed in “Branch 78, Taguig” which the watch dogs said “does not exist.”

We here at Balita are still wondering where the heck did this information come from, and where the heck is that People’s Tonight that they said published a retraction. In our first article regarding this matter, we presented a legitimate copy of the criminal information that stated that the case was filed in Branch 27, Metropolitan Regional Trial Court, City of Manila. We also presented a photo of the actual People’s Tonight copy that ran the Joel Bander sexual molestation story. 

The July 22, 2006 “The Price of a U.S. Visa” People’s Tonight article written by Allan Bergonia, which can be found on our website www.balita.com, didn’t mention any “Branch 78” nor “Taguig” nor “illegal recruitment charges.” (Hey, watch dogs, produce the People’s Tonight article that you guys have! You owe it to your readers, and so I can stop badgering you with this demand.)

But while Joel Bander and his watch dogs are busy trying to defend themselves on this People’s Tonight retraction, let us offer you another article – this time published here in Los Angeles – by Eric Leonard of KFI AM 640 Talk Radio (as shown in the photo). This is the same radio station you listen to when you hear Atty. Bill Handle and his morning crew report on current issues, and it is also where you hear the very popular conservative radio host, Rush Limbaugh, makes his daily rant against President Obama and all other liberals. 

Found on KFI’s website (www.kfiam640.com) is this article: “Loan Attorney Investigated” (http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/EricLeonard.html?article=6822105) by Eric Leonard who wrote that the L.A. Sheriff''s Department has opened a criminal investigation on Atty. Joel Bander

 

Found on KFI’s website (www.kfiam640.com) is this article: “Loan Attorney Investigated” (http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/EricLeonard.html?article=6822105). Lo and behold, it’s about Atty. Joel Bander!

According to Leonard’s article, “A criminal investigation has been opened into a lawyer already accused in civil court of ripping off loan modification clients. Attorney Joel Bander, named in two class-action lawsuits alleging malpractice and fraud, is also the subject of an L.A. County Sheriff’s Department investigation…”

The particular story, Leonard said, involved Bander’s alleged loan litigation scam, where he reportedly failed to act on the cases of 800 homeowners who signed up in the Bander Law Firm “Sue the Banks” program resulting in foreclosures to many Filipino, Korean and Armenian homeowners. Each homeowner paid at least $8,000, but claimed they did not get the legal services that they expected, and worse were not even refunded after they demanded that their moneys be returned.

So, our dear readers, Bander might have escaped from what he might have done against a Filipina in the Philippines, but he may yet have a pending criminal case here in the U.S. That shows you who this U.S. lawyer is.

800 homeowners claim they were ‘duped’ by Atty. Joel Bander and his firm

Lawyers Geragos, Singer, Miller sue Bander Law Firm on behalf of its own former clients

By Rhony Laigo

It’s been two weeks and we have yet to hear from the pseudo investigative reporters of their claim that there exists a People’s Tonight story – Manila’s most popular afternoon tabloid – that the paper said they retracted their own story when they published an article that Atty. Joel Bander was criminally charged with “acts of lasciviousness” for allegedly molesting a Filipina.

While they try to deal with this problem, this author would like to clarify to Balita readers that the letter of inquiry submitted to the Philippine Bureau of Immigration as presented by the pseudo investigative reporters in their own newspaper was a mere request to find out why a foreigner who has a standing warrant of arrest can go in and out of the country.

In our past two issues, we presented real documents from a Manila court identifying Joel Bander as being accused in 2006 (Weekend Balita Oct. 15) and a warrant of arrest that was issued against him two years later, in 2008 (Weekend Balita Oct. 22). Again, we reiterate that Balita was forced to published the documents, one of which described the graphic sexual attack allegedly perpetrated by Bander against the victim, to dispute the claims of the fake investigative reporters that the victim was fictitious and that the events were “untrue and without basis.”

But what's truly amazing is the fact that despite the criminal case in the Philippines, these pseudo investigative reporters, who are Filipinos by the way, have chosen to defend an indefensible American lawyer, who was also accused by more than 800 American homeowners of committing what could be one of the biggest loan litigation scams in the U.S. Most of these homeowners are – listen up fake investigative reporters! – Filipinos, your own kababayans, here in Southern California.

For a clearer picture, these 800 homeowners were former clients of Bander himself. They were those who had signed up with the Bander Law Firm (BLF), which had advertised (in full pages in a broadsheet newspaper that he used to also represent as its legal counsel) that they(BLF) would sue their lenders and save their homes from foreclosure.

Among those who filed a complaint against Bander were  Antonio “Anjo” Sanchez of Coachella Valley, Grace Laurel of Victorville, Lisa Resuta, Joseph Parcacio, Daniel De Leon and Bach Quiaonza of Long Beach. There were also Korean victims, such as Carol In, Ji Chang, Ted Yoon and Chul Soo Kim. Ted Yoon claimed he paid the Bander Law Firm $26,000 for multiple properties, but was never given the legal service he was promised. 

If that's not enough, Atty. John B. Miller Jr. alone filed on September 9, 2009, a complaint to the California State Bar against Bander on behalf of 29 homeowners. This complaint at the State Bar prompted Bander to sue Miller for allegedly “soliciting his clients” but was dismissed by the court. Miller had told Balita that each had paid the Bander Law Firm (BLF) at least $8,000.

Ted Yoon and several others later sued the BLF for fraud and for violations of the RICO Act or the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which is a federal crime. For the benefit of the pseudo investigative reporters, Yoon was represented by Atty. Anne Singer, in case they choose to "investigate" this matter.

Another case – this time for breach of contract, fraud and deceit, negligence, etc. – were filed by another lawyer against Bander and his law firm by Shin K. Yoon, aka Lisa Yoon, and represented by Atty. Robert Mills.

The class action lawsuit filed by celebrity Atty. Mark Geragos on behalf of  homeowners against Joel Bander and his firm.

Yet another case was filed against Bander and the BLF filed by, are you ready for this?, Atty. Mark Geragos on behalf of Taguhi Hakobyan and Grigor Alemsharyan (two Armenian nationals) and “All Others Similarly Situated” homeowners – a class action lawsuit. Yes, he is the same Atty. Mark Geragos, the celebrity lawyer who once represented Michael Jackson and Winona Ryder – the same criminal lawyer you always see on CNN.

All these cases filed against Bander’s law firm may no longer proceed because the 25-year-old firm filed for bankruptcy in early 2010. Sadly, the homeowner victims may not get a single cent from the thousands of dollars they paid to the firm.

If these lawsuit don’t convince you, dear readers, that there’s something wrong with Joel Bander, it is our hope that the criminal case filed against him in the Philippines for allegedly molesting an innocent Filipino woman, who was seeking his help to get a U.S. visa, hopefully will. 

Even if Bander says that the case was dismissed, it wasn’t because she was “fictitious” as he claimed she was, it was because she didn’t appear in court, which was understandable given the fact that the humiliation she will have to face and against one of Philippines’ most popular and most expensive lawyers may be too much to bear. 

Who paid for Bander's expensive lawyer in the Philippines? Your guess is as good as ours, although the other lawyers claimed that Bander might have earned millions of dollars from the homeowners they said he “duped.” Try this: 800 homeowners multiply by $8,000. Answer: $6.4 million. And yet the BLF said it was bankrupt. 

Solving heavy backpacks that injure our children

(September 6, 2006) Early this week, as children were going back to school, a report on children getting injured because they have to carry heavy backpacks was again highlighted on a feature story of a leading TV news program. This is not new. In fact, before the end of the millennium, there have been studies that heavy backpacks cause injuries to schoolchildren, either suffering from a lower back pain or in the shoulders.

What’s troubling, however, is that many students, who always feel very proud of going to school, seem not to mind carrying heavy backpacks, as if these are the norms, especially when they are in higher grades. As if it comes with the responsibility of being a student of higher grade, and one should not complain because everyone in the class has to carry the same load.

In the school where my daughters go to, higher grades are classed on the second floor. Other schools go up as high as four storeys. And to think they have to carry their backpacks all the way up there.

Sensing trouble when I saw my younger daughter carry her loaded backpack, I took the liberty of speaking to the principal after school (she’s new) about what I think was a problem that is mostly overlooked by parents, who might think that because their children are bussed to schools or dropped off inside the campus, heavy backpacks are negligible. Well, I’m sorry, parents. But I needed to do this because I think there are better ways to improve the situation, and because, even if your child has not complained about it, many are suffering from injuries and that they only make it to the headlines on the first day of school.

According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, your child’s backpack should weigh less than 15 percent of their body weight. A 100-pound child shouldn’t be carrying more than 15-pounds of weight, the academy said, which doesn’t need explaining. And this the principal, thank God, already knew. She even said that it’s “ridiculous” for children to be carrying heavy bags. I told her I have no problems with children taking their books home and studying hard (hopefully), but there should be a better way to relieve the students of the heavy burden. She assured me that she will meet with the faculty on how to address the weighty problem, like perhaps they can alternate the days in which kids will bring home books from one subject at a time.

My wife has been suggesting that instead of books, children should be bringing home CDs as she thinks, with today’s technology, most books were already conceptualized in a computer even before they were printed. Ergo, an electronic copy should now be available. She found out from at least one publisher, McGraw Hill, that some books used by our daughters, which were published as early as 2003, are already available in a CD format. (Remember the advertisement where novels are already available on CDs, thereby allowing you to read them with your laptop? What’s more, some books on CDs can now be heard, no reading is necessary, all it takes is a set of head phones. Yes, my daughter told me that too. That everybody should learn how to read and that listening is not an option. Only for the seeing impaired, and maybe for old folks like me, who always needs to find his reading glasses in order to read. He..he...)

My daughter said that just like any file sharing software wreaking havoc on many recording companies, books on CDs can be copied resulting in copyright infringements. I responded that publishers can encrypt the formats so there will be no “illegal copying” (good luck!). I also told my daughter that we will even save on trees and freight cost since shipping heavy books, both hard and soft bound, is pricey as against a copy of a CD which can be sent by regular mail, if not totally downloaded from the publisher’s website, which means more savings for us. I also went as far as telling her that this will solve the problem of the lack of books in many countries, including mine back in the Philippines, where during my elementary days, we had to share books in class because there were not enough books. With CD copies or access to the internet, everyone should be able to read their assigned book, further enhancing literacy. 

Another argument my daughter raised though is that some still don’t have computers. I said, well, there are libraries, where computers and internet access are available. Also, with an electronic format, libraries won’t have to maintain several copies – one would be enough in the computer hard drive or in the network. Besides, it’s better to invest in computers, which has many uses, than purchasing volumes of books of the same title. Lastly, we prevent injuries to the back and shoulders because of heavy backpacks.(RFL)