Charges Expected in Suspected Fraud

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office is expected to file charges today against a 23-year-old Long Beach woman suspected of being part of a ring of female con artists who bilked an elderly Sun Valley man out of about $21,000, according to police.

Police said undercover officers arrested Tonia Peres, 23, in Long Beach on Monday as she tried to pick up a welfare check. She was booked on suspicion of theft by false pretenses and is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail in Van Nuys, Det. Jack Blanchard of the LAPD’s Foothill Division said.

Along with three other suspected female accomplices, Peres allegedly befriended an 85-year-old man and talked him into giving them money and taking the foursome on shopping sprees at Macy’s and the downtown jewelry district.

Two suspects in the con ring--Patty Adams, 24, and a 12-year-old girl--were arrested about a month ago after Edward Rebis, the Sun Valley man, became suspicious of their flirtatious advances and reported the situation to police.

Adams has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the district attorney’s office. She is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, said Senior Deputy Nolan Lyons at Los Angeles County Jail.

The 12-year-old girl, whose name has not been released because of her age, is scheduled to appear in Sylmar Juvenile Court on Dec. 6.

“The charges against her are under review and the charges, if any, will be announced that day,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Yochelman, who heads the D.A.’s juvenile office in Sylmar.

The fourth suspect, a woman in her early 30s, is still at large. “The word is she skipped town,” Blanchard said. Police described her as having dark hair and dark eyes, about 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 140 pounds.

Police believe the ring may be responsible for as many as a half-dozen other cases in the Valley, in which the elderly were conned out of money, Blanchard said.