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Investors Cheer Indictment Of LA Real Estate Mogul

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A federal grand jury accuses Ezri Namvar of misappropriating $23 million held in escrow by one of his companies. 'I am happy because he deserves it,' said one man who lost $700,000.

Official: Mogul May Have Stolen $23M From Clients

This week's indictment of Los Angeles real estate mogul Ezri Namvar on criminal fraud charges was welcome news to local investors who say the Iranian immigrant preyed on their shared ethnic ties and bilked them out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Namvar has agreed to surrender to federal authorities Monday to face charges that he stole $23 million from clients of his company, Namco Financial Exchange Corp., which safeguarded proceeds from commercial real estate transactions, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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