March 29, 2024
Riverside attorney arrested for extortion
RIVERSIDE – (INT) - Riverside police arrested a local attorney and his accomplice girlfriend for extortion, Thursday.

Rogelio Morales, 39-years-old, and Mireya Arias, 32-years-old, were booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on multiple counts of extortion and burglary.

Between April 2016 to June 2016, Mr. Morales and Ms. Arias entered eleven hair salon and dry cleaning businesses in Riverside County and obtained minimal services from each.

Within days, Mr. Morales would deliver court documents to the businesses claiming his client, Ms. Arias, was filing suit for violations of the Gender Tax Act of 1995 and Business and Profession Codes for amounts ranging from $20,000 to $123,000.

The victim business owners, all Hispanic and Asian, would contact Mr. Morales’ law firm listed on the paperwork, or Mr. Morales would call the business offering to settle the case out of court for a smaller sum, usually around $10,000.

The lengthy investigation determined Mr. Morales and Ms. Arias would enter these businesses with the clear intent of extortion.

The victims and their advocates believed they were targeted because they were small immigrant owned businesses.
Story Date: April 26, 2017
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