Federal prosecutors have accused two former officers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department of participating in a complex extortion scheme. A police tape was found on the windshield of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s vehicle, indicating the seriousness of the allegations.
Four former law enforcement and military officers are facing accusations from prosecutors for orchestrating an intricate and deceptive raid on a California man’s residence in 2019. Their alleged motive was to deceive the man into relinquishing his rights in a business that held a value in the tens of millions of dollars.
According to prosecutors, the indictment revealed that the victim involved in the case was a partner in a Chinese rubber chemical manufacturer called Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology Co. Ltd. The victim had been engaged in a lengthy and expensive legal battle with a wealthy Chinese national over ownership of the company. Interestingly, the same Chinese national allegedly orchestrated the fraudulent raid and approached one of the defendants, Max Samuel Bennett Turbett, with a proposal to resolve the dispute.
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Turbett, a 39-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom and ex-British military personnel, is among four men who currently face charges. These charges include conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion, conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law.
The following individuals have also been charged:
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- Steven Arthur Lankford, 68, is a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy who stopped working for the department in 2020. Federal prosecutors said he now owns a Santa Clarita, California-based process service company.
- Glen Louis Cozart, 63, is a former LASD deputy. He owns and runs a private investigation and security services company.
- Matthew Phillip Hart, 41, is an Australian citizen and former member of the Australian military. He owns a risk management services business in Australia.
The attorney representing Lankford chose not to provide any comments regarding the case. However, attempts to contact the attorneys for the remaining three individuals mentioned in the indictment were not immediately successful.
According to prosecutors, in 2018, Turbett received a request for assistance from a “wealthy Chinese national” who wanted to locate and recover assets from “Victim 1.” The individual, referred to as “the unindicted co-conspirator” by prosecutors, also owned an Australian-based private investigation and asset recovery business. Expressing frustration with the ongoing legal dispute, she sought Turbett’s help in finding a more effective resolution. She allegedly mentioned that if they succeeded, both of them could retire. The indictment states that the previous lawsuits filed in China and Atlanta had not been the most prudent approach to resolving the issue.
Prosecutors allege that Turbett and an unindicted co-conspirator orchestrated the creation of counterfeit settlement agreements. These fraudulent agreements purportedly required the victim to transfer a substantial amount of money, totaling nearly $37 million in cash and company shares, to the woman involved.
According to prosecutors, Turbett and Hart flew from Australia to Los Angeles to meet with Cozart and Lankford and discuss plans for the fake raid.
Filled with fear for the safety of his family, the man reluctantly signed the necessary documents. However, despite Lankford’s warning that he would face arrest and deportation if he reported the incident to the police, the man bravely ignored the threat and immediately contacted the Irvine Police Department once the four men had left his house.
Lankford is accused of providing false information to investigators from the Irvine Police Department. He claimed that he had a valid reason to be at the victim’s residence for law enforcement purposes and that the individual had given consent for everyone to be present without any use of force.
Prosecutors claim that by November 2019, all of the men involved in the scheme had received payment. Turbett’s company received a payment of nearly $420,000 from the “wealthy Chinese national,” who expressed gratitude for a job well done.
