Southern California Man Extradited From The Phillipines To Face Charges He Embezzled $656K From Construction Concern

From The Desert Sun:

  Michael William Barnett   Former Rancho Mirage man accused of embezzlement Written by Colin Atagi The Desert Sun Apr 12, 2013 A former Rancho Mirage man, arrested last month in the Philippines, is scheduled to face embezzlement charges next week in Riverside County Superior Court. Michael William Barnett, 52, is accused of embezzling $656,000 from a construction company he co-founded in 2004, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Federal authorities arrested him in March and brought him to Los Angeles where members of the U.S. Marshal’s Pacific Regional Fugitive Task Force took him into custody on Thursday. He is being detained at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. Michael Barnett and his partner formed Brandon Construction in 2004, but it went out of business in July 2006. An investigation was launched shortly after the company went out of business when the partner learned he had no access to its bank records. According to the district attorney’s office, Barnett and his wife, Bettina Barnett, used 24 bank accounts with six financial institutions to hide customer payments over a 21-month period. Barnett’s wife was hired as a bookkeeper and all profits were supposed to be split evenly between Michael Barnett and his business partner. Bettina Barnett pleaded guilty in April 2012 to one felony count of embezzlement and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and five years probation, according to the district attorney’s office. Michael Barnett is set to appear in court at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Tuesday.  Former Rancho Mirage man accused of embezzlement Written by Colin Atagi The Desert Sun Apr 12, 2013