Dictator’s son under Senate investigation
Senate investigators, according to a government report, have been conducting a three-year investigation of Teodorin Nguema Obiang, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, tracking the allegedly unlawful transfer of millions of foreign dollars through the American financial system.
Obiang, according to investigators, purchased his $30 million Malibu mansion, as well as luxury cars and other high price items, with funds wired through shell companies, allegedly set up by a variety of sources, including his sometime girlfriend, rapper Eve Jeffers, according to ABC News.
Investigators believe much of the millions in cash came from corruption related to the massive oil and gas reserves off the coast of the small West African country.
Obiang’s father was charged with misuse of public funds in a lawsuit filed last year by anticorruption groups in France.
$10K in ‘water’ scholarships available
West Basin Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors, for the second consecutive year, is supporting students interested in water careers through its scholarship program. Ten $1,000 scholarships will be awarded, with up to two awarded within each of West Basin’s 5 divisions (for a map of these divisions and a list of eligible cities and schools, please visit www.westbasin.org).
This program is open to graduating high school seniors living in or attending a school within the West Basin service area, which includes Malibu, and have been accepted into a trade school, junior college, or university. The program aims to nurture student interest in pursuing studies that could lead to a career in the water industry and recognizes scholastic achievement and community service.
To apply, students must complete and submit the official application with a 500-word essay describing the applicant’s knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of current and future water issues, describe how water will be integrated into their field of study, and the reason the applicant would like to work in the water industry. Additional guidelines for the scholarship can be found in the application packet, available at www.westbasin.org
Applications are due no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 26 by email, standard mail, fax, or hand delivered to West Basin’s office in Carson. The award will include a Certificate of Achievement and a one-time $1,000 cash scholarship for use toward tuition or books.
Former Malibu resident indicted for fraud
Peter Jerald Frommer, a former Malibu resident who allegedly defrauded investors out of $12 million dollars, was taken into custody by federal authorities Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Frommer, 34, surrendered to FBI agents last Friday morning after a federal grand jury on Thursday indicted him on 17 counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and failing to file federal income tax returns for three years.
In March of 2007 Frommer faced 11 counts of fraud in Aspen, Colo. where he had moved to the prior year from Malibu, according to stories in the Aspen Daily News and other papers. He was arrested there and later released on a $27,500 bond. According to reports, Frommer allegedly wrote approximately $50,000 worth of bad checks to various Aspen businesses, including a hotel, a baby-sitting service and a lingerie boutique.
Malibu businessman Scott Tallal, who owns several local companies, won a judgment against Frommer for work he performed for one of Frommer’s businesses.
“He looked like a Wall Street wiz kid who had done well in hedge funds,” Tallal told The Malibu Times in 2007. “A lot of us were taken in by his business claims and his list of supposed assets.”
Tallal said that Frommer seemed legitimate because of lavish parties that he would throw at his Malibu home where he would fly in potential investors, pointing out that his other properties were “right next” to that of celebrities Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Malibu proclaims One Book, Once City-Malibu month
The Malibu City Council proclaimed that March 20 through April 20 shall be One Book One City – Malibu month.
This year’s book selections bring the focus on living history in Malibu, with selections by local Authors Dorothy Stotsenberg and Marian Hall.
Stotsenberg’s memoir, “My Fifty Years in Malibu,” and Hall’s book “Malibu – California’s Most Famous Seaside Community” are full of local color, interesting anecdotes, historical information and beautiful photographs.
Along with an ongoing photographic tour of Malibu history that will be featured all month in the Malibu Library, a Celebration of Malibu History event will take place March 27at Pepperdine University, in the Payson Library at 2 p.m. The books’ authors will be on hand to speak, along with photographer Nick Rodionoff, and local dignitaries.
As in past years, there will be a writing contest sponsored by Diesel, A Bookstore, centered on the themes of the books and inspired by Malibu itself. There will be awards for the best fiction/poetry and best non-fiction entries in both young and adult categories. Entries should be submitted to Diesel by May 15, and winners and prizes will be announced at the closing celebration.
More information can be obtained by calling 310.456.6438 or online at 1b1c-bu.com
Malibu Presbyterian to host slavery screenings
In partnership with Pepperdine University’s School of Law and International Justice Mission, on Feb. 19, Malibu Presbyterian Church will be screening the Oscar-nominated short, “Kavi,” a film on the plight of a young kiln worker in India, as well as IJM’s latest documentary concerning modern-day slavery entitled “At the End of Slavery.” The director of “Kavi” will be interviewed following the screening.
The screening will take place 8 p.m., Feb. 19 at Malibu Presbyterian Church, 3324 Malibu Canyon Rd. The event is free and open to the public. More information is available at www.malibupres.org.
By Laura Tate