Law Enforcement

Los Angeles – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a $94 million settlement with Western Union Financial Services, Inc., that resolves a decade-long investigation into illicit money transfers that “have flowed freely” in the Southwest border region.

The settlement includes $50 million in funding for the “Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Alliance,” a four-state coalition against money laundering that includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.

“For years, billions of dollars in smuggling profits have flowed freely between the United States and Mexico,” Brown said. “Today’s agreement with Western Union gives our region the resources and cooperation we need to stem the flow of illicit cash across our borders.”

The settlement follows a decade-long investigation by the Office of the Arizona Attorney General into illegal money-laundering activity in the Southwest border region. The investigation found that hundreds of millions of dollars are being channeled to drug, weapon and human traffickers through Western Union money transfers.

To resolve Arizona’s investigation and more effectively address illegal money laundering, Western Union has agreed to:

• Provide $50 million to establish and fund the Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Alliance;
• Invest $19 million over the next several years into upgrades to its anti-money-laundering program;
• Provide $4 million to support an independent monitoring program established to ensure anti-money-laundering measures are implemented; and
• Pay $21 million to the State of Arizona to cover investigation and litigation expenses.

Additionally, today’s settlement requires Western Union to provide California with access to transaction data so investigators can track trends in the flow of illicit money, identify money-laundering points and target drug, weapon and human traffickers.

The Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Alliance will support and fund training, information sharing and other initiatives in member states and Mexico and will work to enhance and better coordinate money-laundering investigations and prosecutions. Under the agreement, law enforcement organizations in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas will each be guaranteed grants totaling a minimum of $7 million to bolster efforts to combat money laundering.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that $18 billion to $39 billion is being smuggled from the United States to Mexico every year.

Today’s agreement with Western Union and the Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Alliance’s governing agreement are attached.

San Bernardino, Calif.—Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos today announced the filing of criminal charges against former Chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors William Postmus and James Erwin, former Chief of Staff to Supervisor Neil Derry, on “conspiracy, corruption and bribery” charges related to a $102 million land-development settlement paid by San Bernardino County.

The complaint alleges that Erwin took $100,000 for inducing the Board of Supervisors to pay $102 million of taxpayer’s money to Colonies, a development company, in a fraudulent settlement and that Postmus took a $100,000 bribe for his vote to approve it. If convicted of all charges, Erwin faces a maximum of twelve years in state prison, and Postmus faces a maximum of eight years in state prison.

“These individuals engaged in conspiracy, corruption and bribery that cost San Bernardino taxpayers more than $100 million,” Brown said. “This is one of the most appalling corruption cases ever seen in California, and we will aggressively pursue this conspiracy until all of the facts are exposed.”

In January 2007, Erwin was appointed Assistant Assessor of San Bernardino County, a job he held until he resigned in November that year. In September 2008, he was named Chief of Staff to San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry.

Postmus served as a member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors from 2000 until January 2007, when he took office as San Bernardino County Assessor. He resigned in February 2009.

In 2002, Colonies filed a lawsuit against the County seeking to recover $23.5 million it had spent on flood-control improvements and challenging the County’s easement rights that it claimed deprived Colonies of the ability to develop its property.

On November 28, 2006, the San Bernardino Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 to approve a settlement of $102 million with the Colonies, an amount based on an unsubstantiated demand and against the advice of County Counsel and private attorneys.

The complaint alleges those votes were obtained as part of a broad conspiracy which involved extortion and bribery, culminating in acts of public corruption that cost San Bernardino taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The investigation uncovered four bribes totalling $400,000 paid by the Colonies to secure the settlement.

Colonies gave Erwin $100,000, which was deposited into the Committee for Effective Government PAC he controlled, for his role as an intermediary between Colonies and the supervisors to achieve the settlement. The complaint alleges that Erwin created political mailers depicting Postmus as a drug addict and homosexual in order to blackmail him into voting for the settlement. Erwin also created negative mailers against another supervisor prior to the vote.

In addition to the $100,000 bribe, Erwin accepted other gifts for his role as intermediary, including a private jet trip to New York, meals, lodging, entertainment, prostitutes and a watch. Erwin is facing charges of perjury in connection with failing to report those gifts after he became a county officer.

At the time of the vote to approve the settlement, Postmus was the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and led the effort to approve the settlement. The complaint alleges that he received $100,000 from Colonies, which he funneled into two Political Action Committees (PACs) that Postmus set up specifically to receive the money. Postmus controlled both PACs, the Inland Empire PAC and “Conservatives for a Republican Majority,” but attempted to conceal his connection to them.

Postmus then transferred $50,000 from the Inland Empire PAC into his campaign account and used some of the funds for personal meals and entertainment.

The Chief of Staff for Supervisor Ovitt secretly controlled the Alliance for Ethical Government PAC, which received $100,000 from Colonies. The Chief of Staff received payments for campaign consulting from the PAC.

Colonies also gave $100,000 to the San Bernardino County Young Republicans PAC that was secretly controlled by a member of the board of supervisors who voted in favor of the settlement, and whom Erwin had threatened with the exposure of damaging information. Funds from the PAC were used to pay the supervisor’s campaign expenses and fund his campaign account.

The investigation is ongoing and may lead to additional arrests.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos stated, “The assistance of the Attorney General’s Office has been, and will continue to be, invaluable in our investigation. I would like to thank Attorney General Brown for providing the excellent assistance of Deputy Attorney General Melissa Mandel who has been working directly with our team and Senior Assistant Attorney General Gary Schons for his advice and direction over the past months. It is critical that confidence in their government be restored to the residents of San Bernardino County. This is just one more step in achieving that goal.”

In the Attorney General’s complaint filed today, Erwin was charged with nine felony counts, including:

• Conspiracy to Commit a Crime (Penal Code Section 182)
• Two counts of Corrupt Influencing (Penal Code Section 85)
• Two counts of Offering a Bribe to a Supervisor (Penal Code Section 165)
• Two counts of Extortion to Obtain an Official Act (Penal Code Section 518)
• Misappropriation of Public Funds (Penal Code Section 424)
• Forgery (Penal Code Section 470)

Postmus was charged with five felony counts, including:

• Conspiracy to Commit a Crime (Penal Code Section 182)
• Accepting a Bribe (Penal Code Section 86)
• Supervisor Accepting a Bribe (Penal Code Section 165)
• Conflict of Interest (Government Code Section 1090)
• Misappropriation of Public Funds (Penal Code Section 424)

The complaint is attached.

San Diego—Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that Mary Louise Wilson, 54, of San Diego, has been sentenced to 19 years and 4 months in prison for attempting to “kill or seriously injure” nursing home residents by setting fires in the homes.

Today’s sentence marks the longest prison term that anyone convicted by the Attorney General’s Office has received in an elder abuse case.

“These fires were no accident. This woman meant to kill or seriously injure dozens of disabled people,” Brown said. “Residents of nursing homes are particularly vulnerable, so today’s sentence is an important victory in our fight against elder abuse in California communities.”

Brown’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (BMFEA) was created in 1978 to uncover Medi-Cal fraud and to combat the abuse and neglect of patients in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Since Brown took office, BMFEA has secured 217 criminal convictions and has collected more than $1.1 million in restitution and reimbursement.

In August 2009, Brown’s office, along with the National City Fire Department and the El Cajon Police Department, began an investigation into a series of fires set in nursing homes in the San Diego area.

The first incident occurred in January 2009 at El Dorado Care Center in El Cajon. Wilson, a resident of the facility, had been placed in a room with two other women. Neither of her two roommates was able to get in or out of bed without nursing assistance, and one of the women was attached to an oxygen tank.

In the middle of the night, Wilson set fire to the bed of one of her roommates while she was sleeping. A nurse heard the smoke alarm and used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire before anyone was hurt.

Four months later, Wilson, who was able to manage in a more independent environment, was transferred to Golden Paradise Senior Living, an assisted living center in National City.

Soon after being transferred, Wilson set fires in the second-floor trash chute, the first-floor dumpster and the second-floor library. She also threw burning materials down the trash chute. National City Fire Department firefighters and the building’s sprinkler system put out the fires before anyone was hurt.

Investigators from Brown’s office identified Wilson as a suspect by linking the fires at the two facilities. In October, she was charged with the crimes and pled guilty on January 5, 2010 to:

• Two counts of attempted murder;
• Three counts of arson;
• Two counts of attempted arson;
• One count of assault with a deadly weapon for threatening a resident with a knife; and
• One count of making a criminal threat with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

In addition to today’s court victory, BMFEA has investigated and prosecuted several other notable elder abuse cases in the past year. Late last year in Sacramento, Maria Elna Flora pleaded guilty to 12 counts of grand theft and burglary for stealing $435,100 from retirees to fund a daily gambling habit.

In September 2009, Brown filed charges against Pamela Ott, a Kern Valley Hospital administrator, for allowing staff to forcibly administer psychotropic medications to patients to sedate them for the staff’s convenience. The case is pending in Kern County Superior Court.

Wilson’s booking photo and a copy of the complaint are attached.

Oakland—Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced today that Sharon Elyce Pearl, 52, of Oakland, the former Director of Real Property for the State Bar of California, has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison after she “methodically embezzled” more than $600,000 from her employer to spend on spa treatments, designer clothes and other luxury items.

“As the State Bar’s Director of Real Property, Pearl methodically embezzled more than $600,000 to bankroll a lavish lifestyle,” Brown said. “Under today’s sentence, Pearl will spend the next two years and eight months in prison and will be required to repay the State Bar and the State of California in full.”

In April 2009, Brown filed seven criminal charges against Pearl in Alameda County Superior Court, including:

• One criminal count of embezzlement for violating section 504 of the state Penal Code.
• Six counts of filing false tax returns for violating section 19706 of the state Revenue and Taxation Code.

Pearl pleaded no contest to all charges in December 2009.

As part of today’s sentence, Pearl was ordered to pay:

• $615,790 in restitution to the State Bar;
• $167,422 in staff, audit and attorney costs to the State Bar; and
• $116,652 in taxes, penalties, interest and investigation costs to the Franchise Tax Board.

Pearl has already paid $393,212 of the $615,790 owed to the State Bar in restitution.

In 1999, the State Bar purchased an office building at 180 Howard Street in San Francisco for its headquarters. The State Bar inherited tenants who leased retail space in the building. As the Director of Real Property, Pearl handled building management and collected rent from the building’s tenants.

As early as 2002, Pearl began to embezzle a portion of the rental funds she collected. As part of her scheme, Pearl directed some tenants to make their rent checks payable to “PLOT—The State Bar of California.” Unknown to the renters, “PLOT” stood for the Piedmont Light Opera Theatre.

Pearl deposited the checks into accounts held by the Piedmont Light Opera Theatre. Because she was a signatory on the theater's accounts, she could then transfer funds from the theater accounts to her personal bank account.

Pearl used the embezzled funds to pay for spa treatments, designer clothes, lavish meals and fancy hotel rooms. Because the State Bar did not track its rent payments, Pearl was able to continue her scheme for several years.

In 2008, the State Bar finally uncovered Pearl’s scheme when she requested a check for what she claimed was a tenant’s security deposit refund. Because there were no records that the tenant had ever paid a security deposit, the State Bar launched an internal investigation into the financial discrepancies.

The State Bar ultimately discovered that Pearl was maintaining two sets of books, and the investigation was referred to Brown’s Special Crimes Unit for prosecution.

The State Bar was created by the Legislature in 1927 and is a public corporation within the judicial branch of government, serving as an arm of the California Supreme Court. It admits attorneys for practice in the state, provides continuing education classes and conducts disciplinary hearings.

Copies of the original complaint and arrest warrant declaration are attached.

Los Angeles—In an ongoing investigation of the state’s underground economy, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a fifth legal judgment against trucking companies operating at California ports that deny workers “the Social Security, Medicare and workers’ compensation benefits to which they are entitled under state law.”

Last month, the Los Angeles Superior Court found that Pacifica Trucks, a Southern California fleet operator, misclassified its drivers as independent contractors. The company failed to pay state employment-related taxes, contribute to Social Security and Medicare and provide W-2 forms to its employees.

“We’re sending a clear message that if you cheat your workers, we’re coming after you,” Brown said. “Pacifica Trucks claimed that its workers were independent contractors in order to avoid paying the Social Security, Medicare and workers’ compensation benefits to which they are entitled under state law. This judgment validates our continuing effort to ensure that all employees are protected.”

In 2008, Brown filed a lawsuit against Pacifica Trucks for unlawfully classifying its workers as 'independent contractors,' circumventing state employment taxes and ignoring labor laws that guarantee workers’ compensation and disability benefits.

In the lawsuit, Brown argued that Pacifica Trucks had exclusive authority over its drivers and provided all of the trucks, equipment, gas, repairs, and other business-related expenses used by employees. Under these conditions, the drivers should have been classified as employees with legally mandated protections and benefits.

Brown also argued that, in violation of California Business and Professions Code 17200, Pacifica Trucks had an unfair advantage over its competitors through the cost savings achieved by misclassifying its workers.

The judgment requires Pacifica Trucks to permanently refrain from misclassifying truck drivers as independent contractors and to pay a penalty.

Brown previously won lawsuits against the following trucking companies for similar violations:

• Guasimal Trucking
• Jose Maria Lira Trucking
• Esdmundo Lira Trucking
• Noel and Emma Moreno Trucking

Brown’s office has pursued several other companies suspected of operating underground economy schemes and violating worker’s rights. Recently, Brown filed a lawsuit against Auto Spa Express Car Wash in Los Angeles for forcing its employees to work nearly 60-hour weeks without overtime, ignoring minimum-wage laws and denying workers' compensation benefits to injured employees.

Last year, Brown also filed a lawsuit against Charles Evleth Construction in Bakersfield to recover $4.3 million in lost wages and benefits for the company’s employees.

Copies of the complaint and judgment against Pacifica Trucks are attached.

Oakland - Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a $1.8 million settlement preventing Maurice Irving Glad, owner of 22 Midas auto shops throughout California, from owning or operating an auto repair shop in the state, after the franchisee “deceptively lured” customers with cheap brake specials and then charged hundreds of dollars for unnecessary repairs.

As part of the settlement, Midas International Corporation is acquiring all of Glad’s shops, which therefore will continue to operate without interruption.

“For years, Glad ran a bait-and-switch scam, in which he deceptively lured customers into his Midas shops with cheap brake specials, then charged them hundreds of dollars more for unnecessary repairs,” Brown said. “Our settlement makes sure that Glad will never own or operate an auto repair shop in California again.”

After a four-year undercover investigation by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, Brown filed suit against Glad in June 2009. The investigation revealed that Glad regularly advertised $79 to $99 brake specials at his Midas shops to draw in customers and then often charged another $110 to $130 for unnecessary brake-rotor resurfacing. In some cases, customers were charged hundreds of dollars more for repairs that were not needed or never performed.

The settlement requires Glad to pay $1.8 million in damages, investigative costs and attorney fees, plus permanently prevents the franchisee from:

• Applying for or holding any license or registration issued by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair or any successor agency; and
• Engaging in any business that requires any type of license or registration issued by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair or any successor agency.

In addition to acquiring Glad’s 22 shops, Midas International Corporation has agreed to honor any and all guarantees or warranties previously made or given to customers.

In 1989, the state attorney general sued Glad for similar violations, which resulted in an injunction prohibiting his shops from performing unnecessary repairs, charging for services not performed, or using scare tactics to convince customers to purchase unnecessary parts and services. The California Bureau of Automotive Repair initiated its recent investigation into Glad’s Midas shops to monitor compliance with the injunction.

Undercover agents, posing as customers, conducted approximately 30 sting operations at Glad’s shops. In total, there were more than 35 incidents, involving 105 violations, in which shop managers, mechanics and employees made false or misleading statements to pressure customers into purchasing unnecessary parts and services. On average, the shops charged undercover agents almost $300 in unnecessary brake-rotor resurfacings, brake-drum repairs, brake adjustments, brake-cleaning services and other services.

“Overselling of services has become an increasing problem,” said California Bureau of Automotive Repair Chief Sherry Mehl. “It amounts to fraud and seriously harms the consumer. That’s why we aggressively work to find and shut down these shops.”

Brown’s lawsuit was filed jointly with Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff (then) and Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth A. Egan, due to the large number of shops operating in Alameda and Fresno Counties. Glad’s 22 Midas shops are located in Campbell, Clovis, Concord, Dublin, Fremont, Fresno, Hayward, Manteca, Merced, Modesto, San Jose, San Leandro, Turlock and Walnut Creek.

Brown’s lawsuit contended that Glad and his shops:

• Used false and misleading advertising in violation of Business and Professions Code 17500;
• Employed unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices in violation of Business and Professions Code 17200; and
• Disobeyed the 1989 Alameda County Superior Court injunction in violation of Business and Professions Code 17535.5 and 17207.

“The Department of Consumer Affairs has zero tolerance for consumer fraud,” said California Department of Consumer Affairs Director Brian Stiger. “We are very pleased that, in partnership with the Attorney General’s office, we have been able to stop a bad player from further harming both consumers and the hard-working, law-abiding players in the auto repair industry.”

Consumers who believe they have been overcharged by an auto-repair facility can file a complaint with the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Automotive Repair online at: www.autorepair.ca.gov or by calling 1-800-952-5210.

The settlement is attached.

San Francisco—Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today petitioned the California Supreme Court to review the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal’s ruling which “wrongly threw out” the law banning felons from possessing body armor.

“The appellate court wrongly threw out an important law that prohibited felons from possessing body armor,” Brown said. “We’re asking the Supreme Court to review the decision and restore important protections for the men and women in law enforcement.”

In 1998, the California Legislature enacted the James Guelff Body Armor Act to prohibit felons convicted of a violent crime from possessing body armor.

On December 17, 2009, the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal struck down the statute, ruling that the law was too vague.

Brown’s petition argues that the Court of Appeal’s Opinion:

• Fails to follow the test for determining whether a statute is vague;
• Contradicts the Legislature’s intent in enacting a body armor statute; and,
• Needlessly abrogates the entire body armor statute.

A copy of the Petition is attached.

Statement from Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. on the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal's decision to overturn California's ban on violent felons possessing body armor:

"Every day, California's law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities,' said Attorney General Brown. 'Allowing violent felons to possess military grade body armor puts their lives further at risk and jeopardizes public safety. My office will petition the California Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision next month.'

Los Angeles – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced today that his office has launched an investigation into whether four individuals defrauded more than 30 African American churches in Southern California by forcing them to pay up to $45,000 for shoddy computer kiosks originally presented as cost-free. These individuals—Michael Morris; Willie Perkins; Tonya Wilson; and Wayne Wilson—are also suspected of targeting dozens of churches in at least ten other states.

Additionally, Brown is investigating what role three national leasing companies—Balboa Capital Corporation; United Leasing Associates of America Ltd.; and Banc of America Leasing and Capital, LLC—may have played in facilitating this scam.

“These individuals sold the churches on the promise of free services and advertising revenues,” said Brown. “Instead, the churches were enticed into expensive leases, which the leasing companies aggressively enforced, even after learning of the alleged scam.”

Since 2000, Morris, Perkins, Wilson and Wilson have operated two companies—Urban Interfaith Network and Television Broadcasting Online—that peddled computer kiosks to African American churches throughout the country. In California, these individuals targeted neighborhood churches in Compton, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Pasadena, Perris, Pomona, Rialto, Riverside and San Bernardino.

These individuals purportedly pitched the kiosks to church leaders as cost-free, high-tech devices that could serve as electronic message boards, print retail coupons from local businesses and generate advertising revenue.

Once a church agreed to house a kiosk, the individuals presented it with a lease agreement from United Leasing Associates of America Ltd. or Balboa Capital Corp (who later sold some of its leases to Banc of America Leasing and Capital, LLC). The individuals repeatedly assured church leaders that Urban Interfaith Network, Television Broadcasting Online or other church-friendly corporate sponsors would cover all leasing costs.

Instead, churches were left with leases as high as $45,000 per year for what amounted to little more than desktop computers and printers housed in podium-sized wooden boxes. Many of the kiosks did not function.

Even after learning of the alleged scam, leasing companies continued to aggressively enforce the terms of the leases, filing lawsuits against churches to collect payment, interest and late fees. For example:

• Los Angeles-based Bryant Temple AME Church was sued by Balboa Capital Corp. to collect on a kiosk lease even after the church informed the company that it had been defrauded into signing the lease. For months, the church pooled funds together to pay down the lease and avoid the cost of litigation, however, it has recently decided to stop making payments to Balboa.

• Los Angeles-based True Way Missionary Baptist Church contends in its own lawsuit against United Leasing Associates of America, Ltd. that even after learning of the alleged scam, the leasing company collected payments on the lease by debiting the church’s bank account without authorization. The lawsuit further contends that United obtained a default judgment in Wisconsin for over $30,000 for a kiosk that the leasing company knew was worth only $2,000.

• San Bernardino-based Ecclesia Christian Fellowship Church was sued by Balboa Capital Corp. and Banc of America Leasing and Capital, LLC to collect on two separate kiosk leases. The two leasing companies continue to aggressively pursue their lawsuits.

• San Bernardino-based New Hope Missionary Baptist Church was sued by Banc of America to collect payment on two leases it purchased from Balboa Leasing. The church filed a countersuit contending that Balboa, working with Urban Interfaith Network and Television Broadcasting Online, defrauded the church. Balboa’s motion to dismiss the church’s countersuit was overruled in court.

Brown has served investigative subpoenas on the three leasing companies: United Leasing Associates of America Ltd.; Balboa Capital Corporation; and Banc of America Leasing and Capital, LLC; and the two companies operated by Morris, Perkins, Wilson and Wilson: Urban Interfaith Network and Television Broadcasting Online.

Last month, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox filed criminal charges against Morris and Perkins, including: one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit false pretenses over $20,000, four counts of false pretenses over $20,000 and four counts of fraudulently obtaining a signature.

Sacramento – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. sent a letter last week to six major retailers, warning them that a number of children’s products on their store shelves were found to contain “illegal levels of lead” and to pull the products from their stores immediately.

“Private testing uncovered a number of products designed for children that contain dangerous and illegal levels of lead,” Brown said. “These products must be removed from store shelves at once to protect our kids from toxic lead exposure.”

Children are particularly susceptible to the risks of lead exposure, which can damage the nervous system and other organs. Children are exposed by ingesting the lead when they put the products in their mouths, handle them and then touch their mouths, or transfer the lead from the products to food.

Any children’s product that contains more than 300 parts per million (ppm) of lead is considered a hazardous substance and therefore illegal to sell in the state. The following products were found to contain excessive levels of lead:

• Kids Poncho sold by Walmart, 677 ppm;
• MSY Faded Glory Rebecca Shoes sold by Walmart, 1331 ppm;
• Reversible Croco Belt sold by Target, 4270 ppm;
• Dora the Explorer Activity Tote sold by TJ Maxx, 2348 ppm;
• Paula Fuschia Open-Toed Shoes sold by Sears, 3957 ppm;
• Disney Fairies Silvermist’s Water Lily Necklace sold by Walgreens, 22000 ppm;
• Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit sold by Tuesday Morning, 6196 ppm.

Brown has also requested that the companies provide his office with results from any of their own tests conducted on the products and report how they plan to ensure that other items do not contain toxic quantities of lead.
Brown has reported the findings to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, which could order a recall of the products.

In 2008, Brown’s office reached a settlement with several major toy companies over excessive levels of lead in their products. The settlement allocated $548,000 in funding for consumer safety groups to monitor lead levels in consumer goods and to provide outreach about product recalls. The Center for Environmental Health discovered the current violations with a grant from the Public Health Trust, which administers the settlement fund.

"Based on our testing, it appears there are fewer problem toys on store shelves this year. But parents should know that some children's products still contain high levels of lead,' said Michael Green, Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Health. 'After all the attention to lead-tainted toys, manufacturers and retailers still need to do more to keep lead out of our kids' hands.'

A sample copy of the letter:

November 13, 2009

Dear Retailer:

We just received a report about a children’s product purchased in your store in Richmond, California that contains illegal levels of lead. The lead levels reported exceed the limits in the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (“CPSIA”). Furthermore, selling the product without a proper warning likely violates California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly known as “Proposition 65.” We are writing to ask that you stop selling the product immediately and take other corrective action as needed.

The children’s product is a Cherokee brand reversible “Croco” belt, Style 1139915TG, purchased at your store in Richmond on September 27, 2009. The SKU is 492020800102. Our internal reference number is PHT 082. Please use it in communications with our office about this. We have enclosed photographs of the product.

The item was purchased by an investigator for the Center for Environmental Health, using a grant from a fund administered by the Public Health Institute. The fund was established through a Proposition 65 settlement between our office and several companies over lead in toys. (People v. Mattel et al., Alameda County Super. Ct., Civ. No. RG 07-356892.) After screening the product for lead, the Center for Environmental Health sent a sample to a federally-approved laboratory for further testing. The test results, which are enclosed, indicate 4,270 parts per million (“ppm”) lead in the black artificial leather on the front surface of the belt. This exceeds federal lead limits, which deem a children’s product with more than 300 ppm lead in an accessible component a “banned hazardous substance.” It also appears to violate Proposition 65, which requires a clear and reasonable warning prior to exposing persons to known carcinogens and reproductive toxins, including lead. (Cal. Health & Saf. Code, § 25249.6; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 27, § 27001.)

Lead is a toxic metal that damages the nervous system and other organs. Even at low levels of exposure, lead can impact brain development in children. Based on what appears to be violations of federal and state law, you should stop selling the product immediately. Additionally, please send us any test results you have and any representations from the manufacturer or supplier about the lead content in the product. Please contact us immediately so we can discuss what further actions your company intends to take.

Sincerely,

EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Attorney General