Two Placentia men were arrested Thursday in the Santa Clarita Valley on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and cheat.
The two suspects, who each have the same last name and live at the same address, were arrested on warrants issued by detectives assigned to the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau.
Nimesh Patel, 42, and Rahi Patel, 40, are each accused of violating section 182(A)(4) of the California Penal Code.
The crime of conspiracy requires prosecutors to prove the defendant intentionally entered into an agreement with another person or persons to commit a crime.
Bail for the older suspect was set at $635,000. No bail, however, was set for Rahi Patel.
A check of court records revealed Rahi Patel was arrested twice before in the last two years.
He was arrested by officers of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department on July 8, 2017.
“(Rahi) Patel is charged with seven felony counts of forgery relating an item exceeding $950 in value and two felony counts of identifying information theft,” Ricard Santiago, spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
“He has a preliminary hearing scheduled on June 13,” he said referring to the 2017 airport case.
Rahi Patel was released from custody the day after he was arrested.
He was arrested again in January by law enforcement offices representing “other state agencies,” according to arrest records maintained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department Inmate Information Center.
661-287-5527
On Twitter
@jamesarthurholt
