And I’m off to Ireland… I’m off for a bit of the crack…. I am awfully shifty, for a man of fifty… Catch Me If You Can, me name is Dan, Sure… I’m your man! – Irish folk song
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical crime film, based on the life of Frank Abagnale, who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed several cons worth millions of dollars. His primary crime was fraud.
You can call Ruben Rojas, current Chief Business Officer at Montebello Unified School District, and former Deputy Executive Director of California’s Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) – a Gov. Brown appointee – a newer version of Abagnale.
An ongoing Hews Media Group-Community News investigation has found that Mr. Rojas defrauded public entities he has worked for since 2011, weaving a complex web of deceit, using bogus information on his employment applications, even working for two or more entities and collecting multiple paychecks at the same time.
The duplicitous behavior showed that Mr. Rojas, who does not possess a bachelor’s degree and boasts of a law degree from online-only Abraham Lincoln University, calling it Lincoln University on his applications, jumped from job-to-job between 2011 and 2015.
And the shifty Mr. Rojas spread himself between positions smoothly, always keeping one foot in the job he was leaving and one foot in the job he was taking, following the money.
The pattern indicated that Mr. Rojas, who was recently given a vote of no confidence by the California Schools Employee Assn. after a little more than a year at the Montebello Unified School District, eventually was found to be completely incompetent by his superiors after a few months at his position, and would either resign and take another job or be placed on administrative leave, collecting money along the way.
It is Mr. Rojas’s aura and muffled confidence that complements his fraudulent scheme.
Mr. Rojas was so convincing he even fooled Gov. Brown’s Office of Appointment staff when he was appointed as Deputy Executive Director of the I-Bank in July 2013.
But, as with Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can, Mr. Rojas finally got caught.
His scheme could land him in legal hot water and possible prison time for submitting an application to a state agency with fraudulent information.
The applicable Code states, “any person who knowingly and willfully makes or uses any false document knowing the document contain fictitious or fraudulent statement shall be fined and/or imprisoned for not more than five years.”
And the Governor’s Appointment Office officials and I-Bank officials could also liable for any loans that Rojas authorized during his tenure at the I-Bank.
Dansure Inc. – Sham Company?
Catch Me If You Can, me name is Dan, Sure… I’m your man….
Mr. Rojas had two applications and resume packages, depending on which public entity he was applying to.
There was the “school district” application package, with Mr. Rojas working for, in chronological order, the LAUSD, the Los Angeles Community College District, tiny Elk Hills School District, and the La Canada USD.
He submitted the “school district” package to the Montebello Unified School District.
Then there was the “polished” application package, with Mr. Rojas working for LAUSD, the LACCD; Senior Associate with AECOM that had revenues in excess of $ 6 billion; and finally Dansure, Inc., which billed itself as “a $45 billion company.”
Mr. Rojas submitted that package to the Governor’s office for appointment to the I-Bank.
On the surface Mr. Rojas’s application package to the I-Bank was extremely impressive. His list of accomplishments were legendary – just ask “his good friend,” Gov. Brown.
A closer examination of the of both application packages revealed major discrepancies.
Polished Application Package
One of the top companies Mr. Rojas lists, Dansure (the same word in the Irish song) Inc., has a very questionable history; even finding a mail drop is impossible.
Dansure claims “a $45 billion track record of delivering high-performance services in collaboration with its clients.”
But information on Dansure is extremely difficult to find.
The $45 billion would indicate at least a robust social media presence and marketing campaign via Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.
But no such marketing exists.
The last post on Dansure’s Facebook was Jan. 3, 2015, the post prior to that was November 2014. The page has only 59 likes.
The Twitter account was slightly more active, but the last “tweet” was April of this year, the second to the last tweet was July 2015.
Finally a search on the California Secretary of State’s website shows Dansure, Inc. was dissolved 4/2/10, one year prior to Mr. Rojas’s claimed employment at the company.
Impressive Job Title
Mr. Rojas was “Executive Vice President of Sustainability” at Dansure starting in 2011.
A review of Dansure’s corporate history as shown on Los Angeles Community College District bond documents indicates the company was established as Ed Aschoff and Associates in May 2008, then renamed Dansure in 2010.
An internet search of Dansure reveals an address of 515 S. Flower St. in Los Angeles with a phone number of 800.757.1247.
Dialing the 800 number directs the caller to Home Theater Kings based out of South Florida.
Searching the internet under the company’s URL Dansure.com reveals an unavailable website.
In 2013, Dansure filed with the state and changed its address to 27422 Portola Parkway, Suite 345, in Foothill Ranch.
An internet search reveals the address belonging to EHS, Inc. and the phone number belonging to a private party.
HMG-CN called the number and the party indicated that, “I just got this number one week ago, around Nov. 1.”
This story originated at www.loscerritosnews.net
