OC resident Moundir Kamil in 2015 was reportedly sentenced to just 99 days in jail and three years probation for stealing a $1.4 million tax refund check from Irvine Company chairman Donald Bren and faking Bren’s identity to cash the check in 2010.
The story of the ID theft, first reported by the Business Journal, garnered national attention.
That light sentence came despite a prior conviction for Kamil in 2003, for a series of bank robberies in OC. Kamil, dubbed the “Give Me More Bandit” during that crime spree, served 30 months for those federal crimes.
The 99-day jail term for the Bren ID theft clearly didn’t discourage Kamil from undertaking other crimes.
Kamil, 56, was sentenced last week for his part in yet another SoCal crime wave: between 2021 and 2022 a crew he oversaw targeted surfers’ cars for robberies while they were in the ocean, took their credit cards and phones, hacked those phones, and then drained the surfers’ bank accounts, taking over $1 million in total.
Federal prosecutors also noted in sentencing papers that Kamil “has a pending case for grand theft and second-degree burglary, which was committed while (he) was on supervised release for the (surfer-related) case.”
He’ll be serving three years and eight months for the latest conviction, according to reports.
Byron Roth, executive chairman of OC’s largest investment firm, Roth Capital Partners, is one of 11 people set to be recognized with a 2026 Horatio Alger Award, which honors “exceptional corporate, civic, and cultural trailblazers from across the country who have reached the pinnacle of success in their chosen fields, despite facing significant challenges in life,” and who show a commitment to education and philanthropy.
Roth, whose firm has raised over $100 billion in capital, is the son of a turkey farmer who grew up in Wayland, Iowa, “where the nearest stoplight was 10 miles away.”
The new class will be inducted in April. Other prior award winners with OC ties include Jim Doti, Ron Simon, Glenn Stearns, Larry Higby, Don Beall and George Argyros.
Indiana Hoosiers are big on OC’s biggest restaurant chains.
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza this month inked an endorsement deal with Irvine’s Taco Bell, after the QB led his football team to the national championship.
Mendoza’s deal came a few weeks after Indiana coach Curt Cignetti got his signature Chipotle order, dubbed “I win,” officially added as an option to the Newport Beach chain’s menu.
Irvine Company in 2020 landed one of the country’s first Amazon Fresh grocery stores at The Market Place shopping center, which is now preparing for hundreds of new residents as a pair of big apartment complexes come online.
So much for good timing: Amazon announced Jan. 27 that it would close all its Amazon Fresh stores by mid-March.
Some shuttered stores could be converted to Whole Foods Market stores, according to Amazon.
OC still lacks an Erewhon, too.