Woodland Hills : Man Is Sentenced to Jail Over Loan Scam

A former Woodland Hills man accused of cheating tens of thousands of dollars out of business people who had sought his services as a purported loan broker pleaded guilty Thursday to eight counts of grand theft.

David Sanford Turkin, 50, was sentenced to three years in the Los Angeles County Jail and placed on eight years’ probation, said Deputy City Atty. Don Kass.

Los Angeles Municipal Judge Gregory W. Alarcon, who accepted the plea, also ordered Turkin to make full restitution to the 41 victims he admitted swindling out of a total $180,000, Kass said.

Turkin’s defense lawyer could not be reached.

For years, Turkin had run a business called Inter-Cal Financial on Fallbrook Avenue in Woodland Hills. He advertised his services in area newspapers, drawing dozens of customers seeking his purported expertise.

But the state Department of Justice began investigating complaints about his firm in June, 1993, including allegations that he accepted up-front fees from clients without fulfilling promises to help them secure quick loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Some victims lost property and businesses as a result of the loans never coming through, Kass said, noting that advance loan fees are illegal in California.

Arrested last fall in Las Vegas, Turkin originally was charged with 42 counts of grand theft and one count of attempted grand theft. A condition of the plea arrangement, however, was that he repay each victim his debt, which ranged from $1,615 to $47,127.50, Kass said.

Free since his arrest on $50,000 bail, Turkin is expected to surrender to the custody of the county in January, Kass said.