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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Glenn Andrew Neasham, 50, of Kelseyville was taken into custody by a Lake County District Attorney's Office investigator Tuesday afternoon, according to court and jail records.
He later was released on $20,000 bail.
Neasham – known as “The Safe Money Guy” – is owner of Neasham Financial and Insurance Group and OxyboostH20!, based in Lakeport.
He is charged with felony theft from an elder that the District Attorney's Office alleges took place between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28, 2008.
The case, filed by Senior Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson, is based on an investigation largely carried out by the California Department of Insurance.
It alleges that Neasham “committed theft and embezzlement” against the property of the then-83-year-old female client, with the property valued at more than $950.
Neasham is also charged with two special allegations – that he “took, damaged or destroyed” property of more than $50,000 and that the theft totaled more than $100,000.
The investigation was triggered when, in February 2008, the Savings Bank of Mendocino County made a report because the alleged victim came in to take out $175,000 in order to purchase an annuity, according to case documents.
The California Department of Insurance received a report on the case in May 2008 and assigned an investigator who subsequently interviewed the alleged victim, her boyfriend – who has been named the annuity's beneficiary – and Neasham.
The report stated that Neasham at various times provided information and at other times reportedly yelled at the investigator and threatened to bring legal action for defamation.
The alleged victim's son told the investigator that his mother had Alzheimer's disease. The investigator noted in her report that the woman often seemed confused and also appeared to be under the control of the boyfriend, who case documents indicated had been a client of Neasham's for about 10 years.
Neasham told the investigator he was not aware of an Alzheimer's diagnosis, and maintained that he was working hard to get his client a good return on her money, as he said he had done for other clients.
In late June and early July of 2009, the investigator got copies of Neasham's newspaper ads guaranteeing 13.575 percent returns on first-year investments with his annuities.
When the investigator contacted Allianz Life Insurance Co., for which Neasham is authorized to sell insurance, the company informed her that it hadn't approved the ads.
At the time, Neasham also had a billboard outside of Lakeport advertising the 13.575 percent return.
The California Department of Insurance did not return a call by end of business Wednesday.
However, the agency's online license search showed Neasham's licenses to still be active, with both – one for accident and health and one for life insurance – set to expire next March.
The database cautions, however, that not all information is current, but it is not clear if licenses can be put on hold while prosecutions take place.
The state database shows no history of enforcement actions against Neasham, who is authorized to sell insurance for Guaranty Income Life Insurance, Lincoln National Life Insurance, London Pacific Life & Annuity, Transamerica Life Insurance, Equitrust Life Insurance, Aviva Life and Annuity and Allianz Life Insurance.
His booking document indicates he's set to appear in court Feb. 7.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that on Dec. 3 a deputy responded to a residence on Spring Valley Road regarding a residential burglary.
Numerous items were missing from the home including several high caliber rifles, ammunition, motorcycles, televisions and other entertainment accessories, according to the report.
Also stolen was a 1997 Range Rover Defender 90 four wheel drive vehicle, which the sheriff's office said has a body style similar to that of a Jeep Wrangler.
The stolen Range Rover was painted fire engine red with a roof rack and snorkel style air intake system, according to the sheriff's office. This vehicle is very rare and completely restored.
The owner's insurance company has agreed to pay a $1,000 reward for information leading to discovery of the vehicle or apprehension of the suspect or suspects.
The Spring Valley area has had other recent burglaries, officials reported.
On Nov. 23 deputies located a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the living room of a residence on Larches Way in Spring Valley.
The motorcycle was eventually identified as stolen from another residence in Spring Valley, and deputies seized the motorcycle pending notification of the owner.
Anyone with information regarding the stolen Range Rover is asked to contact Lake County Sheriff's Office Investigations Bureau at 707-262-4247.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
MOFFETT Field, Calif. – NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., has entered into a five-year Non-Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to use NASA technology and capabilities to help support the management and mitigation of wildfire disasters.
“The two entities have had an ad-hoc partnership for the last 25 years and this agreement formalizes our working relationship and allows the two agencies to explore new and exciting technology developments and capabilities that support the needs of the people of California,” said Vince Ambrosia, NASA Ames principal investigator and senior scientist of the collaborative effort.
“Cal Fire is proud to formalize its partnership with NASA,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of Cal Fire. “Under this agreement we will cooperatively explore the use and future transfer of advanced fire sensing technology. This in turn, will benefit the public we serve by helping CAL FIRE increase situational awareness and response efficiency.”
NASA has developed an innovative visible, infrared and thermal sensor called the NASA Autonomous Modular Scanner (AMS).
The scanner has operated on both NASA’s Ikhana Predator B Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and the manned NASA B200 King Air both operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif.
The scanner provides real-time wildfire imaging data over large-scale disaster events in the western United States and particularly in California.
The innovations include performing all processing on-board the aircraft autonomously and relaying the information through a satellite communications system to disaster managers located anywhere in the world.
The system performed flawlessly during several major wildfire events in southern California in 2007 and during the lightning fires in Northern California in 2008.
Those missions were flown aboard the NASA Ikhana UAV. More recently, the team has focused on integration and operation of the sensor aboard the manned B200 King Air aircraft.
“The B200 has more rapid response capability than the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The exciting element is that we have the ability to use different platforms as the mission requirements change,” Ambrosia said.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LUCERNE, Calif. – The driver and a passenger in a van that ended up on rocks near the lakeshore Tuesday evening escaped injury.
The crash occurred on Highway 20 just east of Lucerne shortly after 5 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The driver was heading eastbound when the right front tire on the white van blew, according to reports from the scene.
When the van left the pavement and hit the shoulder, the soft earth pulled it from the roadway and onto the rocks on the shoreline, about 8 feet below.
The CHP, Lake County Sheriff's Office and Northshore Fire Protection District responded to the scene.
At the scene the driver and lone passenger denied injury and remained on scene viewing the recovery of the vehicle by the tow company.
The crash caused the roadway to be shut down for a brief time.
Gary McAuley contributed to this report.
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