police mark the perimeter of a crime scene as investigators work the scene of an officer-involved shooting September 9, 2012. (Photo for USA Today by Brett T. Roseman) 9/10/12 12:19:01 AM -- Chicago , IL -- THIS IS FOR A 1A COVER Chicago enduring a plague of homicides It seems to happen almost every weekend in President Obama's home town. Gunfire erupts, and young men die. While homicide rates in most major cities are flat or declining, Chicago is enduring an epidemic. A toxic mix of gangs, drugs and guns is responsible. On one recent weekend, there were nine shooting deaths and 28 more people wounded. On a recent Thursday, 13 people were shot and wounded in a 30-minute spate of violence, including eight gunned down on a single street. The police superintendent says some of the shootings were retaliation for crimes committed as long as a year ago. Mayor Emanuel Rahm says the ?culture of silence? is part of the problem. Police have suspended almost 80% of their investigations into non-fatal shootings because suspects won?t cooperate. Besides the experts and community activists and people like Rudy Giuliani, who really did turn things around in NYC, we'll talk to pastors and others who live and work in the most-affected neighborhoods. Recently there was a rash of shootings in a neighborhood called South Shore. It?s poor and mostly black, as are all the neighborhoods that are hardest hit. Cops call the area ?terror town? and say it?s a hotbed of gang violence. -- Photo by Brett T. Roseman, Freelance ORG XMIT: BR 42369 Chicago murder c 9/10/2 (Via OlyDrop) Xxx Chicago Murder Capital07 Jpg Il
Santa Ana, California – A sprawling Orange County staffing empire collapsed under federal scrutiny this week, as prosecutors unsealed an eight-count indictment accusing its owner and several relatives of orchestrating a $90 million tax fraud scheme — and blowing the money on mansions, luxury cars, and jet-set vacations from Dubai to Aspen.
The Justice Department says Lorena Padilla, 49, the owner of multiple staffing firms across Los Angeles and Riverside counties, spent more than a decade cheating clients, the IRS, and California’s Employment Development Department by pocketing payroll taxes withheld from thousands of temporary workers, many of them undocumented immigrants.
Padilla — arrested Wednesday at her Villa Park home — faces charges of wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and six counts of failing to pay federal employment taxes. Prosecutors say she didn’t act alone. Her daughter, Selina Medina Preciado, 30; her brother, Carlos Padilla, 40; and associate Pablo Araque, 55, were also arrested. Two more defendants are expected in court soon, while law enforcement is searching for a seventh, Janine Garcia.
According to the indictment, Padilla promised clients that her companies — Platinum Staffing, Payroll Staffing Solutions, Three Star Global, and Next Level Staffing — would handle payroll, file tax returns, pay workers’ comp, and manage HR. Instead, prosecutors say, the group systematically pocketed the money. Investigators allege that from 2020 to 2025 alone, the crew understated employment taxes by more than $44 million, ultimately costing the U.S. Treasury more than $90 million.
To cover their tracks, the group allegedly hired undocumented workers who were less likely to report errors or file taxes, shielding the fraud from federal eyes. Workers’ compensation insurance was
barely paid. Payroll taxes were ignored. And clients — believing everything was handled — were left exposed.
Meanwhile, the money rolled in. Prosecutors say Padilla and her co-defendants splurged on a $3 million Riverside ranch, multimillion-dollar homes in Whittier and Yorba Linda, rentals across the Inland Empire, Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces, and luxury vacations to Tokyo, Paris, Dubai, Italy, Hawaii, and Aspen. They even hired musical acts for a lavish birthday bash in 2021, documenting their excess on Instagram.
Federal officials say the fraud ran from 2012 to 2024, ballooning into one of the largest payroll tax cases Southern California has seen in years.
Padilla and the others face severe penalties: up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy, 10 years for money laundering conspiracy, and up to five years for each count of failing to pay employment taxes.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty — but prosecutors say the numbers tell a story of a staffing empire built on stolen wages and a lifestyle funded by taxes never paid.
