person:jonathan raven

  • REDACTED COMMUNICATION SENT TO COUNSEL IN MATTER OF SUIT AGAINST MORRISON & FOERSTER ET AL ON AUGUST 7, 2015

    Dear Counsel:

    I hope you are well and are enjoying the summer.

    This will serve to discuss various matters dealing with the two above referenced actions. At times, each counsel is addressed individually and at times issues are addressed to all (or the majority of) counsel collectively, as follows:

    1. YOLO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES DAVID ROSENBERG AND DAVID REED — First, as to the part of this communication addressed to Messrs. Michael Fox, Keith Fink and Olaf Muller, please be informed that an upcoming federal action of Levi v. Girardi & Keese will include one cause of action seeking only equitable relief against “Yolo County Superior Court.” Since your clients (Judges David Rosenberg and David Reed) are part of the “Yolo County Superior Court”, I wanted to give you a heads-up of the upcoming action, as well as to inform you that it is unrelated to the topics which were previously the subjects of various agreements.

    Simply put, and as discussed in more detail below as events relate to other parties, there have been serious new developments dealing with: a) Yolo DA / AARP b) Michael Cabral / Yolo and Riverside DA’s offices/ SNR Dentons - Rod Pacheco - James Hsu / Yolo County’s Cache Creek Casino - Chief Marshall Mckay/ Mark Friedman / DLA Piper / Kapor Enterprises.

    As far as (a) — developments involving Yolo DA and AARP, etc, note that last week I learned that AARP — where George Davis (formerly a California Bar BOG member who voted to press false criminal charges against me with Yolo DA, president of AARP-California, and with strong financial ties to CCPF) and Barbara O’Connor (AARP and AARP Foundation Director, Link America Foundation Director - whom I caught in major alleged fraud re Washington DC party to celebrate the “linking” of the two Americas — which in actuality was a Barack Obama inauguration party - and employee of Sacramento-based Donna Lucas’s Public Affairs) — has bestowed an unusual grant of $40,000 on the Yolo County District Attorney (see attached press-release and HERE ) headed by Jeff Reisig and Jonathan Raven.

    As far as (b) — developments involving Yolo / Riverside Assistant District Attorney Michael Cabral — note that during the pendency of the criminal action against me, a very unusual theory was explored by which Cabral had been transferred from Riverside County DA to Yolo County DA for the sole reason of falsely and maliciously criminally prosecuting me in order to intimidate me into silence and otherwise confiscate incriminating evidence through the execution of an invalid search warrant.
    At that time, I looked into those facts and rejected the theory dealing with Cabral (See story HERE). About one month ago, I learned that Cabral is no longer with the Yolo DA, and has returned back home to the Riverside County District Attorney.

    As you may recall and as I stated previously, I agreed to a plea of no contest to a charge of misdemeanor attempted extortion as a stopgap measure since I was under duress on various fronts. As part of the plea bargain I agreed to, among other things, not contact the State Bar of California Board of Governors/Trustees directly, and other overreaching conditions.

    Both as a journalist and as a victim of the above alleged malfeasance, I am obviously interested in informing the State Bar of California Board of Governors/Trustees and the public vis-a-vis press releases, published articles, and by contacting other journalists of those events. However, per conditions imposed on me while under duress as part of the plea bargain in the criminal matter by Judge Reed, I am prohibited from directly contacting BOG members. As such, in addition to suing some of the above named and others in federal court, I plan to ask the same federal court for relief to allow me to freely exercise free speech.

    As such, if the attorneys for Judges Rosenberg and Reed believe that advancing an action against Yolo County Superior Court for equitable relief is not consistent with the spirit or language of our prior agreements, please let me know.

    Note that from my perspective past events are all forgotten history and there is absolutely no desire to rehash old claims against Rosenberg and Reed. In fact, as I mentioned to Rosenberg’s attorney (Mr. Fink) over the phone, I am a huge fan of Rosenberg and was recently disappointed that he was not appointed as a justice to the California Supreme Court given his outstanding judicial qualities, experience, and political background (i.e. former chief of staff to Governor Jerry Brown; Judicial Council member; mayor of Davis, etc).

    2. SERVICE OF BRIEF AND APPENDIX — California Rules of Court Rule 8.124 (e)(1)states that “a party preparing an appendix must: (A) Serve the appendix on each party, unless otherwise agreed by the parties....”

    As far as the service of the appendix, I am hoping that each party will agree to waive formal service and instead agree that the service of a searchable PDF Appendix via electronic mail is sufficient. Note that I will be advising the court of my request and the responses received from counsel, if any.

    Similarly, I am hoping that you will also agree to waive formal service of a hard copy of the appellant’s brief and to instead agree that the service of searchable PDF and/or Microsoft Word version of the brief via electronic mail is sufficient. I will also be letting the court know that I made this request of counsel and the responses received, if any.

    I would like to urge everyone to agree to the above in order to save a tree, costs, and the unnecessary labor of printing, copying, and binding thousands of pages.

    3. SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS — As applied to the two above referenced actions, I would like to remind everyone that the window to engage in settlement discussions has been closed, as was stated previously. As such, due to multitudes of reasons, in connection with the above two referenced actions, please refrain from extending any settlement offers, attempting to engage in settlement negotiations, or offering anything of value. The only exception will be if the undersigned originates a proposal.

    4. DOCKET — As far as the matter pending before the California Third District Court of Appeal, note that the docket maintained by the court contains many inaccuracies and is otherwise lacking. For example, a search for the last name of defendant/respondent “James Brosnahan” yields no result. Ditto defendants Freada Kapor Klein, Michael Cabral, Mark Friedman (only the name of the late distinguished Morton Friedman OBM appears), Fulcrum Property (only “Fulcrum Davis” appears, which I assume is associated with the Friedmans), Mary Cary Zellerbach, Martin Investment Management, Ronald Olson, Jeff Bleich, Chris Young, Kamala Harris, Douglas Winthrop, Holly Fujie, Ophelia Basgal, and others.

    As such, I ask that each of you contact the court of appeal on behalf of your respective clients — similar to the 4th entry of the docket by which the attorney for Darrel Steinberg independently wrote the court to advise that Steinberg is a respondent, see HERE — to inform the court of the problem and ask for it to be rectified.

    Moreover, please ensure that the name of your clients are spelled correctly i.e. “Munger,Tollis” or “Freada, Kapor, Klein” are not the correct spelling, at least based on my understanding.

    The attorney representing Ms. Kamala Harris is requested to inform the court to remove a comment by which the docket states that Ms. Harris was sued in her capacity as the attorney general or forward proof where I allege she was sued in such capacity.

    The attorney from Locke Lord representing defendants Cary Zellerbach and Martin Investment is asked to inform the court to correct the docket which does not mention either yourself, your firm, or your clients. Also with respect to your client that has thus far managed to avoid service, please be advised that the California statute of limitations is tolled and I intend to pursue claims against her either in state or federal court. REDACTED

    5. SKADDEN ARPS — ISSUES RE RAUOL KENNEDY REPRESENTATION OF CALIFORNIA JUDICIARY — Mr. Russell, as you may recall, in reply to my inquiry you wrote: "My colleague Raoul Kennedy does indeed represent Justice Robert Mallano in Mallano v. Chiang et al., LASC Case No. BC533770. As you may know, Judge Elihu Berle granted class certification in Mallano on January 15, 2015. The class members have not yet been identified because notice has not been circulated, nor has the period for opt outs occurred. Nevertheless, regardless of which judges or justices eventually become members of the class, pursuant to section 811.9 of the California Government Code, the “fact that a justice, judge, subordinate judicial officer, court executive officer, court employee, the court, the Judicial Council, or the Administrative Office of the Courts is or was represented or defended by the county counsel, the Attorney General, or other counsel shall not be the sole basis for a judicial determination of disqualification of a justice, judge, subordinate judicial officer, the county counsel, the Attorney General, or other counsel in unrelated actions.” Cal. Gov’t Code § 811.9. As a matter of law, there is no conflict. The statute is attached for your reference."

    As a reply, I wrote in part that the statute applies only to one justice, and in the case at hand Mr. Kennedy represents (as of now and assuming none chose to opt out) the entire qualified panel of justices of the Third District and that, most importantly, per the statute, the representation must be the “sole” basis. Here, the representation of Skadden/ Kennedy is NOT the sole basis. Rather, there is an additional basis for the disqualification — which is the fact that Skadden itself is also a DEFENDANT in the “unrelated action.”

    In any event, this will serve to inform you that I intend to seek to disqualify any and all judicial officers who are clients of your firm. As such, I ask for you to please forward a list identifying the class members and all those who chose to opt-out of the litigation.

    6. MORRISON & FOERSTER: Mr. Besirof, associate Davis indicated that you replaced Mr. Dresser as the attorney in this matter. Please let me know if you have any questions or require certain clarification. Since you are new to the case and since it is summer, if you need extra time to catch up on materials as far as the filing of an appellate respondent brief, I am extending to you (and by extension everyone else) an additional 60 days in which to file your brief.

    7. DEFENDANT MARK FRIEDMAN / COUNSEL - BROTHER PHILIP FRIEDMAN — Mr. Friedman, in connection with events dealing with Michael Cabral / Yolo DA / Chache Creek Casino and SNR Dentons, can you please provide a list of all the partnerships between defendant Mark Friedman and the Rumsey / Yocha Dehe tribe which operates Cache Creek Casino in Yolo County?

    A lawsuit (attached) the tribe/casino filed against your brother and REDACTED lists the following: Government Property Fund,LLC; Government Property Fund II, LLC ; Government Property Fund III, LLC ; Government Property Fund IV, LLC ; 4330 Watt,LLC; Fulcrum Management Group LLC ; Fulcrum Friedman Management Group, LLC ; Illiniois Property Fund, GPF ; and Illinois LLC. Are these partnership still in effect ?

    Also, for purposes of determine potential conflicts of interest in the current pending matter as far as your ability to serve as legal counsel given your role as a potential witness, please inform me whether Paragraph 108 of the lawsuit which states: “The other Vectors partners included REDACTED and Opper, as well as Friedman, Friedman’s father and brother, and John Krasznekewicz (a Friedman friend)” refers to you, Philip Friedman. In essence, what I am asking is are you the Vector partner or is the brother alluded to someone else ? Also, starting in 2006 to the present, were you involved in any other partnership with the tribe and the casino ?

    8. MUNGER TOLLES & OLSON: Mr. Senator, if not a bother, I will appreciate if your firm would forward me the following:

    a - copy of the report prepared by your colleague Bart Williams dealing with alleged misconduct by Joe Dunn, especially in connection to a trip overseas by which Dunn was accompanied by Howard Miller of Girardi & Keese and Tom Layton. As you may be aware, accompanying the Yolo County District Attorney officers during the execution of the search warrant at my home was also Tom Layton — who served as liaison. As such, if said report is in the public domain, I will appreciate if you forward a copy.

    b - your colleague Jeffrey Bleich recently solicited as clients a group of UC Davis APA law students in connection with their bid to admit post-mortum an APA applicant to the State Bar of California. If not a bother, will it be possible for you to please forward to me a copy of the motion and all other pleading submitted to the California Supreme Court.

    9. FREADA AND MITCHELL KAPOR / LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTE : Mr. Medina, at your earliest, I will appreciate if you please address the following:

    a. In order to determine your status as potential witness, can you please forward your employment history to date beginning from around 2006 ? Were you ever employed at the DLA Piper office in Sacramento ? If yes, can you please state the dates of your employment.

    b. Are you and your clients in a position to disclose who is paying Kapor and LPFI’s attorney’s fees? If it is DLA Piper who set you up to defend the two or otherwise is paying your attorney’s fees, please let me know. As you may know, DLA Piper managing partner Gilles Attia, daughter Sarah Attia, and partner Steve Churchwell played a huge role in CaliforniaALL / Obama for America. Also, separately and around the same time, there is an allegation that DLA Piper laundered $50,000 to “Obama Victory Fund” through defendant Level Playing Field Institute / Kapor Enterprises vis-a-vis the so called “Kapor Maneuver.”

    c. Recently, I have learned from a YOU-TUBE video featuring Mr. Kapor that he is heavily invested in what he refers to as “Ed-Tech” companies.

    It will be appreciated if you let me know if Mr. Kapor, his wife, or their entities have any business relationships with Steve Poizner or former California Bar Foundation treasurer Lindsay Lee — both of whom are also involved with Ed-Tech.

    d. Yesterday, just as I was about to send you settlement business proposals, much to my chagrin and indignation, I encountered the following article in USA Today. Under the heading of “Kapors pledge $40 million investment in tech diversity” it stated, among other things: “Mitch Kapor and wife Freada Kapor Klein will invest $40 million over three years in a set of initiatives designed to give women and underrepresented minorities a better shot at becoming technology entrepreneurs.” The article further stated that “Kapor Capital will make more than $25 million in investments in technology start-ups working to narrow the achievement gaps. At least half of the companies will have founders from underrepresented groups.” (See story http://tinyurl.com/p33dxlx )

    My understanding is that any and all non-profit and for-profits companies operated in the State of California are deemed to be “business establishments” that come within the purview of Civil Code Section 51 known as The Unruh Civil Rights Act.

    Be advised that the plan by the Kapors and Kapor Capital to “make more than $25 million in investments in technology start-ups working to narrow the achievement gaps. At least half of the companies will have founders from underrepresented groups” runs afoul of The Unruh Civil Rights Act which reads: “All persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, or sexual orientation are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.”

    In other words, Kapor Capital’s plan to pick and choose “founders from underrepresented groups” (based on the article, women and “underrepresented minorities”) is unlawful. If you or your clients disagree, please forward an explanation. Otherwise, I shall await word from you that there has been a change of plans.

    e. As you may be aware, starting around 2000, the former executive-director of the State Bar of California (Ms. Judy Johnson) secretly served as the president of the “California Consumer Protection Foundation” ("CCPF") an entity which obtained millions of dollars from class-action “cy pres” awards and from fines, settlements and payments the CPUC — during the time Michael Peevey and Geoff Brown served as commissioners — imposed on various utility companies. For example, anytime a merger took place i.e. between various cell-phone companies such as Verizon, millions were paid to CCPF.

    CCPF, in turn, funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to entities in South-Central Los Angeles [with very close connection to State Bar of California BOG members Shrimpscam’s Gwen Moore and George Davis], a dubious entity in Venice for “Youth Radio”, an entity headed by Michael Shames, various Asian-American entities with close connections to State Bar officials (Holly Fujie and Madge Watai — Little Tokyo Service Center, etc.) and money to entities headed by associates of Justice Ming Chin.

    Based my estimation, around $3 million cannot be accounted for, and separately I alleged that CCPF submitted false reports to the IRS. Months before the execution of the search warrant, I complained to the IRS against CCPF as well as filed an ethics complaint against Judy Johnson and others with the State Bar of California. Later, as you may recall, the State Bar of California BOG voted to file criminal charges against me, alleging among other things, that the CCPF ethics complaint constituted criminal conduct which served as one basis for the search warrant.

    Based on my recollection, it also appeared that CCPF may have funneled money to entities established by the Kapors. Since all the materials have been confiscated by the Yolo DA and are otherwise inaccessible, at your earliest, I will appreciate the names of those entities and the dates / amounts each of these contribution.

    f. Please consider this a formal request for “Kapor Center for Social Impact” to produce its 3 last 990 forms submitted to the IRS. If you need me to request this information from the entity directly, please let me know.

    Thank you for your attention to these matters. Please let me know if you have any questions.

  • REDACTED COPY OF SUIT FILED IN YOLO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT

    Plaintiff,

    v.

    Lea Rosenberg, Yolo Lodge 169 Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Davis Rebekah Lodge; Grand Lodge of California; Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Davis Odd Fellows; Soroptimist International of Davis; Soroptimist International; Soroptimist International of the Americas; David Rosenberg; David Reed; Sheryl Cambron; Barbara Geisler; Virgil Smith; Robert Bockwinkel; Jonathan Raven; Allison Zuvela; Michael Cabral; Tracie Olson; Kathleen White; and Does 1 through 100, inclusive,

    Defendants.

    COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR:


    1. Plaintiff – an individual residing in Yolo County, an investigative reporter and a Rabbi — has been subject to a campaign of systemic harassment ever since he uncovered corruption in various matters dealing with Boyd Gaming Director, owner of various casinos, and class-action attorney Thomas Girardi (“Girardi”) of Girardi & Keese in connection with financial corruption involving California Democratic Party operatives.

    2. For example, Plaintiff unearthed the fact that subsequent to being disciplined by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stemming from an attempt to defraud the court by resorting to the “use of known falsehoods”, the State Bar of California appointed as “special prosecutor” to Girardi’s own private malpractice lawyer (Jerome Falk of Howard Rice) to prosecute Girardi on the State Bar’s behalf. (When later questioned about this matter, Falk, seeking to mislead Plaintiff, told Plaintiff that his firm had represented the law firm of Girardi & Keese, but not Girardi himself.)
    3. Plaintiff also discovered corruption in a national class-action case (Fogel v. Farmers) whereas Girardi – who represented the class of plaintiffs – never disclosed that the attorney who represented defendant Farmers was concurrently representing Girardi in a separate legal matter. Very shortly after Plaintiff exposed the corruption, attorneys for Farmers approached, sought and obtained from the court a supplemental notice to the class of plaintiffs (consisting of 14 million Americans) indicating that if they cashed their settlement checks, they agreed to not sue Farmers or Girardi because of the undisclosed relationship.
    4. Plaintiff also unearthed corruption involving Girardi (who has a reputation of “bankrolling” the California Democratic party) and individuals associated with the California Democratic Party with connections to the California Public Utilities Commission/Energy Commission (Michael Peevey, Tim Simon, Geoffrey Brown, Peter Arth, Joe Dunn, Martha Escutia, Darrell Steinberg) and utility lawyers involved in the “California Energy Crisis” (Ron Olson and Jeff Bleich of Munger Tolles; James Brosnahan of Morrison & Foerster; John Keker of Keker & Van Nest; Jerry Falk and Douglas Winthrop of Howard Rice; Thomas Girardi of Girardi & Keese; Joe Cotchett of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy; Mark Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie Robinson, and the law-offices of DLA Piper) to launder money from utility companies (SCE, PG&E, Verizon, AT&T) to various members of California Democratic Party (Joe Dunn, Martha Escutia, Kamala Harris, Jerry Brown, Kevin Johnson, Darrell Steinberg) and OBAMA FOR AMERICA via various non-profits (CaliforniaALL, Level Playing Field Institute, California Consumer Protection Foundation).
    5. Also involved in the various financial schemes were Cache Creek Casino, Sacramento-based developer Mark Friedman of Fulcrum Property, his business partner (gambling attorney Howard Dickstein), and Dickstein’s wife, Jeannine English, who was also acting on behalf of AARP to position Barack Obama in the White House and on behalf of Mark Friedman to position Kevin Johnson as the mayor of Sacramento. Additionally involved were Obama for America tech-guru Mitch Kapor and his wife, Freada Kapor Klein.
    6. In connection with the above discoveries, Plaintiff informed various law-enforcement agencies of these facts, as well as filed ethics complaints against some of the above named attorneys with the State Bar of California.
    7. Plaintiff has been repeatedly warned that Girardi is “well-connected” and will seek to silence Plaintiff as a result of Plaintiff’s discoveries and allegations.
    8. Indeed, very shortly after Plaintiff unearthed these events, a posse of eight armed investigators from the Yolo County District Attorney’s office executed an invalid search warrant at Plaintiff’s place of residence in Yolo County and confiscated all documents and computers in his home relating to, inter alia, various ethics complaints filed by Plaintiff on the ground that the ethics complaints were baseless.
    9. Plaintiff has been informed by credible sources, and thereon alleges, that David Rosenberg was one of those responsible for pressing criminal charges against him, that he “cleared the way” for the search warrant, and that he is otherwise friendly with Howard Dicsktein, Mark Friedman, Jerry Brown, Mark Robinson, and Chief Marshall McKay of Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (all actors in CaliforniaALL — a sham non-profit launched for the purpose of laundering funds to finance the campaigns of various politicians, including President Obama, Kamala Harris, Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, and Governor Jerry Brown.
    PART II: BACKGROUND OF FACTS UNDERLYING CLAIMS AGAINST LEA ROSENBERG AND RELATED INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES FOR VIOLATION OF CALIFORNIA’S BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS CODE § 17200 — PREDICATED ON 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d)

    10. Following the execution of the invalid search warrant on Plaintiff’s home, described above, Plaintiff began conducting research into David Rosenberg’s background and learned that he is a judge with the Yolo County Superior Court with a reputation of being a “political animal”.
    11. Plaintiff further learned, and thereupon alleges, that David Rosenberg and his wife (Lea Rosenberg) are deeply involved — as either officers or directors — with a web of non-profit entities worth millions of dollars known as Saratoga Retirement Community, Meadows of Napa Valley, Davis Odd Fellows, Odd Fellows Homes of California, Davis Rebekah Lodge, Soroptimist International of Davis, and others.
    12. Plaintiff also discovered that Lea Rosenberg — as the wife of a judge – was energetically raising funds from various businesses. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Lea Rosenberg is an individual residing in Yolo County.
    13. Judge Rosenberg’s judicial campaign treasurer, Victor Bucher, is a nationally renowned expert in the area of accounting and tax fraud, and also serves as the “treasurer” of a separate non-profit entity launched by David Odd Fellows — Davis Odd Fellows Charities, Inc. — where David Rosenberg serve as president and Bucher as Treasurer.
    14. On April 4, 2013 — consistent with the statutory framework put into place by 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d) — Plaintiff served a request for Davis Odd Fellows and Davis Rebekah Lodge to make available for inspection their IRS 990 forms, which Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges are tax-exempt organizations.
    15. A tax-exempt organization must make available for public inspection its application for tax exemption, three most recent 990 annual information returns, and schedules and attachments available, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d), which reads, in relevant part:
    “Public inspection of certain annual returns, reports, applications for exemption, and notices of status
    (1) In general
    In the case of an organization described in subsection (c) or (d) of section 501 and exempt from taxation under section 501 (a) or an organization exempt from taxation under section 527 (a)—
    (A) a copy of—
    (i) the annual return filed under section 6033 (relating to returns by exempt organizations) by such organization,
    (ii) any annual return which is filed under section 6011 by an organization described in section 501 (c)(3) and which relates to any tax imposed by section 511 (relating to imposition of tax on unrelated business income of charitable, etc., organizations),
    (iii) if the organization filed an application for recognition of exemption under section 501 or notice of status under section 527 (i), the exempt status application materials or any notice materials of such organization, and
    (iv) the reports filed under section 527 (j) (relating to required disclosure of expenditures and contributions) by such organization, shall be made available by such organization for inspection during regular business hours by any individual at the principal office of such organization and, if such organization regularly maintains 1 or more regional or district offices having 3 or more employees, at each such regional or district office, and
    (B) upon request of an individual made at such principal office or such a regional or district office, a copy of such annual return, reports, and exempt status application materials or such notice materials shall be provided to such individual without charge other than a reasonable fee for any reproduction and mailing costs.
    The request described in subparagraph (B) must be made in person or in writing. If such request is made in person, such copy shall be provided immediately and, if made in writing, shall be provided within 30 days.
    (2) 3-year limitation on inspection of returns
    Paragraph (1) shall apply to an annual return filed under section 6011 or 6033 only during the 3-year period beginning on the last day prescribed for filing such return (determined with regard to any extension of time for filing).”
    16. Plaintiff delivered the request through Lea Rosenberg because she was the common denominator between the various “Odd Fellows” entities and Soroptimist, in that she served as an officer and/or director of the various “Odd Fellows” entities, and as president of Davis Rebekah Lodge.
    17. Specifically, on April 4, 2013 Plaintiff delivered to Lea Rosenberg at learose@jps.net the following email request:
    “Re: Request for Production of IRS Form 990, Form 990 Schedule A, Form 1023 to entities associated with Lea Rosenberg, to wit: Soroptimist International of Davis, Davis Rebekah Lodge, Davis Odd Fellows

    Dear Mrs. Rosenberg:

    Consistent with U.S. Internal Revenue Service Regulations, please consider this communication a formal request to produce their IRS Form 990, Form 990 Schedule A, as well Form 1023. This request is for all documents submitted to the IRS within the past three years, which generally means the three most recent returns.

    Said regulations require that these documents be produced within 30 days. Soroptimist International of Davis , Davis Rebekah Lodge, Davis Odd Fellows are entitled to charge reasonable costs for any copying and mailing costs incurred in relation to this request. Alternatively, you can email the documents to me as PDF attachments. I prefer the latter method. However, if for some reason, you prefer to copy and mail the documents, please send them to the following address:

    [—address intentionally omitted—]

    I ask that you draw no conclusion or develop any concern from the mere fact that this request is being made about you, Soroptimist International of Davis , Davis Rebekah Lodge, Davis Odd Fellows or any other individual or entity.

    In addition, I ask that you please produce the following:
    1. A detailed and complete list of all other non-profit entities you were involved beginning in 2008 to the present.
    2. A detailed and complete list of all sums which were transferred amongst any and all organizations you were involved, beginning in 2008 to the present. For example, if in 2009 Soroptimist International of Davis transferred money to Davis Odd Fellows either as donation or rent, I ask that such transaction be disclosed.
    3. A detailed and complete list of all direct or indirect transfers of funds from Soroptimist International of Davis, Davis Rebekah Lodge, Davis Odd Fellows to Progress Ranch and/or any other entity associated with Barbara Sommer from 2007 to the present.

    Thank you for your time and anticipated cooperation. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.”

    18. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Lea Rosenberg received Plaintiff’s email dated April 3, 2013.
    19. On April 24, 2013, Plaintiff delivered to Lea Rosenberg a notice of change of address.
    20. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Lea Rosenberg received Plaintiff’s requests for the organizations’ IRS 990 forms, and while conspiring with other Defendants, chose to breach the duty to comply with 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d).
    21. Plaintiff is further informed and believes that Defendants have directly performed, or aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, encouraged, promoted, instigated, advised, willfully caused, participated in, enabled, contributed to, facilitated, directed, controlled, assisted in, or conspired in the commission of the above-described acts.
    22. Due to this failure to comply with Plaintiff’s request, Plaintiff spent considerable time and resources trying to obtain those documents elsewhere, to no avail. Plaintiff asked his paid research-clerk to conduct further research on the Internet in hope of locating a complete set of the desired documents, also to no avail.
    23. Still seeking a complete set of the requested documents, on September 24, 2013 Plaintiff sent Lea Rosenberg the following email:

    "RE: Davis Odd Fellow Hall; Davis Odd Fellow - Second Request for Production of IRS Documents

    Dear Ms. Rosenberg:

    The purpose of this communication is to address the following matters:

    1. Since you appear to have been involved with Davis Rebekah Lodge, Davis Odd Fellow, and Sophomoric, I had previously asked you to produce the IRS tax-returns for those entities.

    For reasons which I do not understand, rather than complying with this simple request (as you are required to do by law given the fact that those entities are allowed to operate on a “tax-exempt” status), you have failed to respond. I am therefore reiterating my request that you comply with the request for these tax returns and produce them to me within the next 5 days.

    As you know, I am troubled by events surrounding the almost exclusive fundraising to “emancipated foster youth”, Barbara Sommer, Davis Odd Fellow members Jonathan Raven and Michael Cabral, Cache Creek Casino, Vic Bucher, and Progress Ranch.

    I am also troubled by the fact that Judge Rosenberg (and his Judicial Campaign CPA Vic Bucher) lends money to the judicial campaign of other judges (i.e. Tim Fall and Dan Maguire). Hence, I would like to get to the bottom of things, and need the requested tax forms to do so.

    2. In the previously submitted request, there was no mention of “Davis Odd Fellow Hall.” My position and understanding is that Davis Odd Fellow Hall is part of Davis Odd Fellow.
    Nevertheless, please consider this communication a formal request to also provide copies of the last three tax return forms that “Davis Odd Fellow Hall” had submitted to the IRS.

    3. Given that Davis Odd Fellow, David Odd Fellow Hall, and Davis Rebekah Lodge are under the exclusive control of you, your husband David Rosenberg, as well as David Reed and his wife Cheryl Cambron, and given that both David Rosenberg and David Reed are judges of the Yolo County Superior Court, I submit that these entities have a duty to operate at an even higher level of transparency than mandated by the IRS, and must comply with the common law duty of disclosure.

    Thus, in addition to inspecting and copying the documents authorized by the IRS, I request copies of detailed financial statements (i.e. income, expenditures, names of donors, names of businesses and amount of rent Davis Odd Fellow Hall charges its various tenants, identity of subcontractors, identity of those who have rented the Hall etc.) For example, my understanding is that David Greenwald (publisher of The People’s Vanguard of Davis and Vanguard Court Watch) entered into a contract with Davis Odd Fellow Hall. Given that Mr. Greenwald’s publications purport to report on misconduct and malfeasance in the local area, including the courts, it appears to me that there is a direct conflict between this stated mission and his decision to rent space from an entity whose Board is comprised of you, and two Yolo County Superior Court judges.

    I am looking forward to hearing from you and receiving the requested documents."

    24. Later that day, Plaintiff received an email response from Lea Rosenberg stating only the following: “so he is at it again.”
    FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
    Violation of California Business and Professions Code § 17200 Predicated on
    26 U.S.C. § 6104(d)
    (Against Defendants Lea Rosenberg, Yolo Lodge 169 Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Davis Rebekah Lodge; Grand Lodge of California; Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Davis Odd Fellows; Soroptimist International of Davis; Soroptimist International; Soroptimist International of the Americas; and Does 1 - 100)

    25. Plaintiff incorporates paragraph by reference paragraphs 1 – 24 as though fully set forth herein.
    26. Despite Plaintiff’s repeated requests, Defendants failed to comply with 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d). This failure constitutes unfair and unlawful acts pursuant to California’s Business & Professions Code § 17200.
    27. Plaintiff is informed and believes that Defendants have directly performed, or aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, encouraged, promoted, instigated, advised, willfully caused, participated in, enabled, contributed to, facilitated, directed, controlled, assisted in, or conspired in the commission of the above-described acts.
    28. As a proximate result of the unfair and unlawful acts of Defendants, as alleged above, Plaintiff suffered injury in fact and has lost money or property in an amount to be proven at trial.
    SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
    Negligence per se
    (Against Defendants Lea Rosenberg, Yolo Lodge 169 Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Davis Rebekah Lodge; Grand Lodge of California; Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Davis Odd Fellows; Soroptimist International of Davis; Soroptimist International; Soroptimist International of the Americas; Lea Rosenberg; and Does 1 - 100)

    29. Plaintiff incorporates paragraph by reference paragraphs 1 - 28 as though fully set forth herein.
    30. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that the Defendants named above were all aware of Plaintiff’s repeated requests for the information described in this Complaint — the entities’ IRS Form 990 forms.
    31. Plaintiff is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants were under a duty to ensure compliance, yet chose to breach a duty prescribed in 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d). This failure to comply with the statutory requirements constitutes negligence per se.
    32. As a proximate result of Defendants’ breach of duty, as alleged above, Plaintiff spent considerable time and resources trying to obtain those documents elsewhere, to no avail. Plaintiff asked his paid research-clerk to conduct further research on the Internet in hope of locating a complete set of the desired documents, also to no avail. Plaintiff suffered injury in fact and has lost money or property in an amount to be proven at trial.
    33. Plaintiff further alleges that Davis Odd Fellows owns a Hall ("Davis Lodge Hall"), on a property adjacent to the two Lodges, and is the owner (and landlord) of rental property currently occupied by Hunan Chinese Restaurant and Coldwell-Banker Doug Arnold Real Estate.
    34. The “Hall Board Association” is a California corporation, and is the actual owner of the Davis Lodge Hall, the adjacent property of the two Lodges, and the rental property currently occupied by Hunan Chinese Restaurant and Coldwell-Banker Doug Arnold Real Estate.
    35. The “Hall Board Association” is composed of President David Rosenberg, Vice President David Reed, Secretary Lea Rosenberg, Treasurer Sheryl Cambron, and Barbara Geisler.
    36. The Davis Lodge Hall is available to rent by the general public for receptions, fund-raisers, dinners, conferences, trade shows, meetings, and other events.
    37. The Davis Lodge Hall is also used by Davis Odd Fellows for its own functions, such as Davis Odd Fellows Bingo and Master Balls.
    38. In approximately September 2013, and after the expenditure of considerable time, resources, and efforts, Plaintiff managed to ascertain that the actual legal name of Davis Odd Fellows and David Rebekah Lodge is “Yolo Lodge 169 Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Davis Rebekah Lodge.” Plaintiff then managed to obtain partial copies of tax returns that “Yolo Lodge 169 Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Davis Rebekah Lodge” had submitted to the IRS.
    39. Upon reviewing partial copies of the above-described IRS 990 forms from 2010 and 2011, Plaintiff noted that false information had been submitted to the IRS on two occasions that he was able to identify from the incomplete forms. Specifically, according to those 990 forms, in 2010 David Reed served as the president of Yolo Lodge 169; serving as the Treasurer of Yolo Lodge was Sheryl Cambron. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Reed and Cambron are married to each other.
    40. However, this was not the information provided to the IRS. The 2010 IRS Form 990 submitted by Yolo Lodge asked, ‘Did any officer, director, trustee, or key employee have a family relationship or a business relationship with any other officer, director, trustee, or key employee?’ The form submitted by Yolo Lodge states, “NO.” Since two of the officers (Reed and Cambron) were actually married to each other, this is a misrepresentation.
    41. In 2011, Yolo Lodge officers submitted false information to the IRS again, this time involving a different set of actors — Lea and David Rosenberg, who are married to each other. Specifically, in 2011 David Rosenberg served as President of Yolo Lodge; his wife, Lea Rosenberg, served as “Secretary” of Yolo Lodge, and David Reed served as a board member.
    42. The 2011 IRS Form 990 submitted by Yolo Lodge asked, ‘Did any officer, director, trustee, or key employee have a family relationship or a business relationship with any other officer, director, trustee, or key employee?’ The form submitted by Yolo Lodge states, “NO.” Since two of the officers (David Rosenberg and Lea Rosenberg) were actually married to each other, this is a misrepresentation.
    43. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Virgil Smith is a CPA a member of Davis Odd Fellows, and a co-conspirator in the submission of these fraudulent tax-returns. Also responsible for submitting these fraudulent tax-returns were David Rosenberg, Lea Rosenberg, David Reed, Sheryl Cambron, Barbara Geisler, and Robert Bockwinkel.
    44. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that the fraudulent tax-returns were submitted because David Rosenberg, Lea Rosenberg, David Reed, Sheryl Cambron, Barbara Geisler, Virgil Smith and Robert Bockwinkel did not want the IRS and the public to become aware that Sheryl Cambron is married to David Reed, and because they were concerned that if such relationships (i.e. Lea Rosenberg is married to David Rosenberg) would be disclosed, it may trigger an IRS audit.
    45. As a proximate result of the unfair and unlawful acts of Defendants, as alleged above, Plaintiff suffered injury in fact and has lost money or property in an amount to be proven at trial.

    THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
    Civil Conspiracy to Violate 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d)
    (Against Defendants Lea Rosenberg, David Rosenberg, David Reed, Sheryl Cambron, Barbara Geisler, Virgil Smith; Robert Bockwinkel; and Does 1 - 100)

    46. Plaintiff incorporates paragraph by reference paragraphs 1 - 45 as though fully set forth herein.
    47. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants Lea Rosenberg, David Rosenberg, Sheryl Cambron, Robert Bockwinkel, David Reed, Barbara Geisler, and Virgil Smith willfully and knowingly conspired and agreed among themselves to a scheme by which they agreed to violate Plaintiff’s legal rights by not complying with 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d) because they were concerned he would discover the tax-fraud perpetrated on the IRS, as described above.
    48. Some of the overt acts (both lawful and unlawful) that gave rise to this conspiracy, committed by one or more of the conspirators pursuant to their common design, were: (a) an agreement to intentionally violate 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d); (b) an agreement to ignore Plaintiff’s repeated requests for information sought pursuant to this statute; and (c) a lawful overt act to belittle Plaintiff by sending him an email which reads, “so he is at it again.”
    49. Plaintiff is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants have directly performed, or aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, encouraged, promoted, instigated, advised, willfully caused, participated in, enabled, contributed to, facilitated, directed, controlled, assisted in, or conspired in the commission of the above-described acts.
    50. Plaintiff is also informed and believes and thereon alleges that David Odd Fellows / Yolo Lodge 169 / Odd Fellows Hall and related entities are and were almost exclusively overseen for years by judges and selected attorneys appearing before the Yolo County Superior Court who misuse Yolo 169 and Odd Fellows Hall as a convenient forum to meet, collude, and engage in ex parte communications in a secluded and non-public setting, as well as to raise funds by lending the prestige of their offices.
    51. Said individuals include primarily Judge David Rosenberg, Judge Kathleen White, Judge David Reed, Yolo County Counsel Sheryl Cambron, District Attorney Jeff Reisig, Yolo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral, Yolo County Public Defender Tracey Olson, attorneys Allison Zuvela, Rodney Beede and wife Christina Zambrano Beede, and Fran McGuire (wife of judge Dan McGuire). A typical event, for example, was described on May 23, 2013 in the Davis Enterprise:

    “This year, the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge took over running the popular ’A Taste of Davis’ and we are delighted to report that the event on April 18 was a great success for all concerned.

    We wish to thank the fine restaurants, wineries and breweries that treated our 250 guests to delightful food and drink: Applebee’s, Berryessa Gap Winery, Caffé Italia’s Brick Wall Pizza, California Vintage Specialties, Davis Food Co-op, Davis Farmers Market, Ding How, Dos Coyotes, Maria’s Cantina, Nugget Markets, Osteria Fasulo, Our House, Paesanos, Putah Creek Winery, Renaissance Wines, Route 3 Wines, Seasons, Senders Wines, Seka Hills Wines, Sudwerk, Sundstrom Hill Winery, Woodstock Pizza, Z Specialty Foods and Zindagi Indian Bistro.

    We thank our sponsors who helped make this event so successful. First and foremost, we offer a big “thank you” to our major sponsor, Hanlees Toyota-Chevrolet-Nissan of Davis. And we also appreciate our other sponsors: The Davis Enterprise, California Vintage Specialties, Comstock Mortgage, Davis Downtown, Cunningham Engineering, Our House Restaurant and Lounge, the Davis Chamber of Commerce, Abaton Consulting, Law Offices of Poulos and Fullerton, Attorney Raquel Silva, the Law Offices of J.B. Dath, and Cache Creek Resort Casino.

    Thank you to many individual sponsors: County Supervisors Jim Provenza and Don Saylor, Mayor Joe Krovoza, and Davis City Council members Dan Wolk, Rochelle Swanson, Brett Lee and Lucas Frerichs, as well as Tracie Olson, Dr. Arun Sen and Bob Schelen.

    Special thanks to Stewart Savage of Abaton Consulting, who put together a terrific slide show that was shown on a continuous loop at the event.

    Finally, we offer a big thank you to the committee that worked with us to plan and execute this successful event: Margie Cabral, Sheryl Cambron, Robin Dewey, Bill Grabert, Nancy Sue Hafer, Lewis Kimble, Steve Lopez, Fran Maguire, Amanda Maples, Joyce Puntillo, Dave Rosenberg, Raquel Silva, Robin Souza and Christopher Young. What a great, hard-working group.”

    52. Plaintiff is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that Davis Odd Fellows’ officers, directors, and members who are otherwise private actors — David Rosenberg, Lea Rosenberg, Kathleen White, David Reed, Sheryl Cambron, Jonathan Raven, Tracie Olson, Allison Zuvela, Michael Cabral, Rodney Beede and Christina Zambrano Beede — conspired amongst themselves to fraudulently conceal the fact that Sheryl Cambron is married to Judge David Reed and is otherwise an attorney employed by Yolo County Counsel and is in a confidential attorney-client fiduciary relationship with Odd Fellows’ members Jeff Reisig, Michael Cabral, and Jonathan Raven on the account of representing them and/or their office in matters such as Gore v. Reisig, In Re Garcia, and Yilma v. Agonofer.
    53. Plaintiff is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that as part of a common scheme and conspiracy to defraud in order to advance said conspiracy, in the hundreds of articles written and published by Davis Odd Fellows/Davis Rebekah Lodge (or about the activities of Davis Odd Fellows by outside publications such as the Davis Enterprise or Daily Democrat), the fact that Reed and Cambron are actually married to each other, that Reed is a judge, and Cambron is an attorney with Yolo County Counsel is never mentioned, in order to mislead and defraud the public and litigants by means of a plan they conceived and executed.
    54. Plaintiff is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that as a further overt act by which to advance the objective of said conspiracy, Sheryl Cambron conceals from the public her association with Yolo County Counsel by causing numerous legal web-sites to misrepresent her employment status. Most, if not all, of those web-sites state that Sheryl Cambron is in fact in private practice representing litigants in matters dealing with bankruptcies, family law, and criminal law.
    55. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that private actors Yolo Lodge 169, David Rosenberg, Lea Rosenberg, David Reed, Sheryl Cambron, Jonathan Raven, Allison Zuvela, Tracey Olson, Michael Cabral, and Kathleen White and Does 1 - 100 willfully and knowingly conspired and agreed among themselves to a scheme by which they agreed to conceal from the public and Plaintiff Cambron’s employment as an attorney with Yolo County Counsel, that she is the spouse of David Reed, as well as the confidential fiduciary relationship between Cambron on one hand and Reisig, Cabral and Raven on the other hand.
    56. Plaintiff further alleges that private actors Rosenberg, Reed, Raven, and Zuvela conspired to fraudulently conceal the fact that Zuvela is an Odd Fellow by intentionally removing her name from the web-site davislodge.org — which yields a zero return when a search is performed for her name . Additionally, Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that David Rosenberg, David Reed, and Allison Zuvela conspired to further delete from the web-site davislodge.org all articles which mentions Zuvela’s name.
    57. These conspiratorial acts were substantial factors in causing Plaintiff monetary losses and damages in an amount to be established at trial.
    FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION
    Fraudulent Concealment
    (Against Private Actors Defendants Yolo Lodge 169; David Rosenberg; Lea Rosenberg; David Reed; Sheryl Cambron; Jonathan Raven; Allison Zuvela; Michael Cabral; Tracie Olson; Kathleen White; and Does 1 - 100 )

    58. Plaintiff incorporates paragraph by reference paragraphs 1 - 57 as though fully set forth herein.
    59. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants committed the above described acts and omissions with intent to defraud the public and Plaintiff and deprive him of other interests he was entitled to. In particular, Defendants affirmatively concealed the existence of a marital relationship between Reed and Cambron, the fact that Cambron is an employee of Yolo County Counsel, and the fact that Allison Zuvela is an Odd Fellow member by affirmatively deleting her name from Odd Fellow web-site.
    60. Plaintiff is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants have directly performed, or aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, encouraged, promoted, instigated, advised, willfully caused, participated in, enabled, contributed to, facilitated, directed, controlled, assisted in, or conspired in the commission of the above-described acts.
    61. Plaintiff reasonably relied upon the statements, acts, and omissions of Defendants to his detriment.
    62. As a proximate result of Defendants’ conduct, as alleged above, Plaintiff suffered injury in fact in an amount to be proven at trial.
    FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
    42 U.S.C. § 1983
    (Against State Actors Defendants David Rosenberg, Sheryl Cambron, Jonathan Raven, Allison Zuvela, Tracie Olson, Michael Cabral and Does 1 - 100)

    63. Plaintiff incorporates paragraph by reference paragraphs 1 - 62 as though fully set forth herein.
    64. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that state actors David Rosenberg, Sheryl Cambron, Jonathan Raven, Tracie Olson, Allison Zuvela and Michael Cabral and Does 1 - 100 willfully and knowingly conspired and agreed among themselves to a scheme by which they agreed to conceal from Plaintiff Cambron’s employment as an attorney with Yolo County Counsel, that she is the spouse of David Reed, the confidential fiduciary relationship between Cambron on one hand and Cabral and Raven on the other hand, and that Allison Zuvela is an Odd Fellow member, by among other things, deleting her name from the Odd Fellow web-site.
    65. Plaintiff is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants have directly performed, or aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, encouraged, promoted, instigated, advised, willfully caused, participated in, enabled, contributed to, facilitated, directed, controlled, assisted in, or conspired in the commission of the above-described acts.
    66. Plaintiff reasonably relied upon the statements, acts, and omissions of Defendants to his detriment.
    67. As a proximate result of Defendants’ conduct, as alleged above, Plaintiff’s state and federal civil rights were violated and resulted in legal damages in an amount to be established at trial.
    WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests judgment against Defendants as follows:
    1. For general and special damages under all causes of action where available by law;
    2. For costs of suit;
    3. For prejudgment interest;
    4. For an injunction directing Defendants to comply with 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d); and
    5. For such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.
    Plaintiff also demands a jury trial in this matter.
    DATED: February 4, 2014