Shocking News: Four Former Officers Face Charges for Allegedly Extorting $37 Million in Fake California Raid!
Four former officers, including two ex-sheriff’s deputies, a former British military member, and an Australian ex-soldier, are accused of staging a fake raid in 2019 to extort nearly $37 million from a California businessman.
According to federal prosecutors, the defendants carried out the sham operation at the request of the businessman’s partner, who had been involved in a long-standing business dispute with him.
The defendants, identified as Steven Arthur Lankford (68) from Canyon Country, California; Glen Louis Cozart (63) from Upland, California; Max Samuel Bennett Turbett (39) from Australia, who is a citizen of the United Kingdom; and Matthew Phillip Hart (41) from Australia, allegedly entered the businessman’s Irvine home under the pretense of a legitimate law enforcement raid.
During the operation, they assaulted the businessman and forced him to sign away his multimillion-dollar interest in Jiangsu Sinorgchem, a Chinese rubber chemical manufacturer.
The businessman’s wife and two children were present in the home at the time of the raid. The victim’s identity and that of the business partner involved remain undisclosed. The partner, referred to as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case, is described as a wealthy Chinese national.
The charges against the four men include conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion, conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law. Each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for extortion-related charges and up to 10 years for civil rights violations.
Steven Arthur Lankford, one of the accused, is a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who now runs a process service company. Glen Louis Cozart, another defendant, is also a former sheriff’s deputy and operates a private investigation and security services firm.
The third defendant, Max Samuel Bennett Turbett, has a background in the British military and runs a private investigation and asset recovery business. The final defendant, Matthew Phillip Hart, is a former Australian military member who owns a management service company.
The incident traces back to a long-running legal battle between the victim and his business partner over their stake in Jiangsu Sinorgchem. Their disagreements had led to multiple lawsuits, including three in China and one in Atlanta. Frustrated with the drawn-out legal process, the business partner sought alternative means to resolve the dispute and contacted Turbett in December 2018.
The partner, dissatisfied with the ongoing litigation, proposed a different approach to Turbett, promising him a significant reward for his assistance. Turbett, along with the partner, drafted settlement agreements that would transfer approximately $37 million in cash and valuable shares in Jiangsu Sinorgchem to the partner.
To execute the plan, Turbett hired Cozart, who then brought Lankford into the scheme. Lankford, still employed as a sheriff’s deputy at the time, violated department policy by using the National Crime Information Center database to look up the victim’s personal information.
In June 2019, Turbett and Hart traveled from Australia to Los Angeles to meet with Cozart and Lankford, where they finalized their plans for the fake raid. During the raid, the defendants forced the victim and his family into a single room, confiscated their phones, and prevented them from leaving for several hours.
The victim was physically assaulted, including being choked and slammed into a wall. He was also threatened with deportation and the possibility of permanent separation from his 4-year-old son.
Fearing for his safety and his family’s well-being, the victim ultimately signed the settlement agreements. However, once the defendants left, he contacted the Irvine police despite being warned not to do so. Lankford attempted to cover up the incident by falsely telling the police that the raid was a legitimate law enforcement action, that the victim had consented, and that no force was used.
By November 2019, the defendants had been paid for their involvement in coercing the businessman. The unindicted co-conspirator paid Turbett’s company around $419,813 and expressed her satisfaction with the outcome via email, thanking him for a “very good job.”
The four defendants are set to be arraigned on the charges. Their legal representatives have not yet commented on the case. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada emphasized the importance of holding public officials to the same standards as everyone else, stating that it is a severe violation of civil rights for a sworn officer to misuse their authority.
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The four defendants are set to be arraigned on the charges. Their legal representatives have not yet commented on the case. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada emphasized the importance of holding public officials to the same standards as everyone else, stating that it is a severe violation of civil rights for a sworn officer to misuse their authority.