SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2015

VOLUME 9 NO. 14

IRS SCAM HITS SIERRA MADRE

IS THIS SIERRA MADRE?

By Susan Henderson

 For several months the public 
has been warned to be aware 
of bogus IRS Agents who call 
taxpayers and threaten them 
with arrest unless they pay up 
contrived debt immediately. 
Last week, however, there must 
have been a fire sale on Sierra 
Madre as SMPD Police Chief 
Larry Gianonne noted that the 
department had received more 
than 100 calls from residents 
reported having been contacted 
by the con artists. Most of these 
reports were prompted by report 
of an abduction of a local resident 
that was linked to such a scam.

 On Thursday, April 2nd, SMPD 
issued the following:

URGENT NOTICE: Missing 
Person & Scam Activity 
Critical Missing: Suspicious 
Circumstances

 At 9:00 AM today Sierra Madre 
resident Enayat Bargen was the 
victim of the on-going IRS scam 
instructing her to retrieve money 
from her bank. Ms. Bargen 
was going to be given further 
instructions where to either 
send the money or meet with 
the imposters. Ms. Bargen was 
first contacted at 09:00 AM this 
morning and left for the bank 
shortly thereafter. Ms. Bargen 
never showed up at her bank 
and his been missing since. We 
are asking for the public’s help to 
locate Ms. Bargen or her vehicle 
a 2005 white Toyota Corolla 
with California License plate 
5MMX883. Ms. Bargen is a female 
white 70 yrs old and was last seen 
wearing a white top, white pants, 
and black sandals. Anyone with 
any information on Ms. Bargen or 
her vehicle is asked to contact the 
Sierra Madre Police Department 
at 626 355-1414. 

 Ms. Bargen’s disappearance was 
reported missing by her husband. 
After several hours, she was 
located, distraught after having 
realized that she had become a 
victim of a scam. According to 
SMPD, she had withdrawn $4,000 
and was attempting to convert 
them into Green Dot Debit Cards 
as she had been instructed by the 
con artists.

 The ‘Green Dot’ conversion 
method asks victims to pay the 
money due by purchasing debit 
cards which are sold in Walmart, 
CVS, etc. It is usually necessary to 
got to several outlets as there is a 
$500 limit on each card according 
to another Sierra Madrean who 
fell victim to a similar scam.

 Once the cards are purchased, 
instructions are given to call in 
the card number and security 
code to the ‘collector’. In the 
case of Ms. Bargen, she was also 
instructed to mail the cards 
issued to a bogus address after 
all the cards had been reported to 
the “collector”.

 Tracking the recipients of the 
cards has proven to be a daunting 
task for federal authorities who 
ultimately have jurisdiction 
over such wire fraud. Gianonne 
confirmed that this investigation 
will also be investigated by the 
FBI.

 The IRS has issued directives that 
will help citizens avoid becoming 
victims. In a bulletin issued last 
year, they listed “Five Easy Ways 
to Spot Suspicious Calls”

 According to the IRS, these 
callers may demand money or 
may say you have a refund due 
and try to trick you into sharing 
private information. These con 
artists can sound convincing 
when they call. They may know 
a lot about you, and they usually 
alter the caller ID to make it 
look like the IRS is calling. They 
use fake names and bogus IRS 
identification badge numbers. If 
you don’t answer, they often leave 
an “urgent” callback request.

“These telephone scams are being 
seen in every part of the country, 
and we urge people not to be 
deceived by these threatening 
phone calls,” IRS Commissioner 
John Koskinen said. “We have 
formal processes in place for 
people with tax issues. The IRS 
respects taxpayer rights, and 
these angry, shake-down calls are 
not how we do business.”

The IRS reminds people that they 
can know pretty easily when a 
supposed IRS caller is a fake. 
Here are five things the scammers 
often do but the IRS will not do. 
Any one of these five things is a 
tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS 
will never:

Call to demand immediate 
payment, nor will we call about 
taxes owed without first having 
mailed you a bill..

Demand that you pay taxes 
without giving you the 
opportunity to question or 
appeal the amount they say 
you owe.

Require you to use a specific 
payment method for your 
taxes, such as a prepaid debit 
card.

Ask for credit or debit card 
numbers over the phone.

Threaten to bring in local police 
or other law-enforcement 
groups to have you arrested for 
not paying.

 If you get a phone call from 
someone claiming to be from the 
IRS and asking for money, here’s 
what you should do:

If you know you owe taxes or 
think you might owe, call the 
IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS 
workers can help you with a 
payment issue.

 If you know you don’t owe taxes 
or have no reason to believe that 
you do, report the incident to the 
Treasury Inspector General for 
Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 
1.800.366.4484 or at www.tigta.
gov. 

Remember, too, the IRS does 
not use unsolicited email, text 
messages or any social media to 
discuss your personal tax issue. 
For more information on reporting 
tax scams, go to www.irs.gov and 
type “scam” in the search box.


On Friday, Sierra Madre was challenged with two significant traffic problems, both 
on N. Sunnyside Photo By S. Henderson/MVNews

 Once a year, residents on N. Sunnyside Avenue 
in Sierra Madre, prepare themselves for the 
hundreds of vehicles heading to the Passionist 
Father’s Retreat for the Good Friday Services 
at Mater Dolorosa. This year, the line of cars 
created what looked like a ‘Sig’ Alert, as cars 
were moving at less than 1 mile per hour, and 
sometimes not at all.

 When the services were over, however, traffic 
congestion was not as great, perhaps because first 
time visitors learned that there are alternative 
routes other than Sunnyside that were available 
for their departure.

 Another traffic incident, totally unrelated, 
occurred at the intersection of Sunnyside and 
Sierra Madre Blvd., creating yet another traffic 
jam in a town that rarely has any. 

 In the second incident, according to SMPD 
Sgt. Gonzales, a vehicle traveling east on Sierra 
Madre Blvd., ran the stop sign and blind sided 
a northbound vehicle. SMPD immediately sent 
out via social media traffic alerts asking residents 
to avoid the area. The accident was reported by 
SMPD at 6:49 pm. Minor injuries were reported 
to the investigating officers by passengers in both 
cars, however, no one was transferred to local 
hospitals. It was deemed at the scene that the 
injuries were not “major”.

 Officer Gonzales noted that the vehicle that 
ran the stop sign was operated by a resident 
of Pasadena and the car that was blind sided 
contained residents of Sierra Madre.


2015 HUCK FINN FISHING DERBY –

AND THE WINNERS ARE

SIERRA 
MADRE’S 
ANNUAL 
EASTER 
EGG HUNT 
MEMORIAL PARK

TODAY,

APRIL 4th


Inside this week: 

CALENDAR Pg. 2

SIERRA MADRE NEWS 
Pg. 4

 PASADENA/ALTADENA

 Pg. 5

ARCADIA NEWS 

 Pg. 6

MONROVIA/DUARTE 
Pg. 6

Sierra Madre, CA. – April 1, 2015 – 2015 Huck 
Finn Fishing Derby Winners

The City of Sierra Madre Huck Finn Fishing Derby 
was held this past Saturday, March 28, 2015. This 
year 236 youth ages 3-15 participated in the Huck 
Finn Fishing Derby with many parents, family 
and friends in attendance as well. The fishing was 
fantastic this year as most young anglers caught 
at least one trout and many caught their limit of 
three! Awards were given in the following four age 
categories, as well as the Largest Overall fish and 
Smallest Overall fish. Age category winners were 
based on the total weight of a maximum three fish. 

Age Category 3-6 years:

•1st – Declan Deniso

•2nd – Kevin Michels

•3rd – Jaxon Norman

Age Category 7-9 years:

•1st – Markus Reynolds

•2nd – Loren Lomboy

•3rd – Ethan Alfonso

Age Category 10-12 years:

•1st – Rudy Estrella

•2nd – Ryan Zhang

•3rd – Mat Carava

Age Category 13-15 years:

•1st – Leilani Abe

•2nd – Nathan Haag

•3rd – Jake Wei

Largest Overall Fish – Declan Denison (4.612 lbs.)

Smallest Overall Fish – Melody Reynolds (.022 
lbs.)

The City of Sierra Madre would like to thank the 
following sponsors for making the Huck Finn 
Fishing Derby and Campout such a success: 
Johnny’s Sport Shop, Izorline International, 
Sierra Madre Volunteer Firefighters Association, 
Buccaneer Lounge, Veterans of Foreign Wars 
Post 3208, Irvine Lake, Issei Foudnation, The 
Kensington, Bass Pro Shop, Okuma Fishing, 
Berkeley Fishing, Sierra Madre Rotary, Wil’s Sport 
and Tackle, The Sierra Madre Woman’s Club, 
Sierra Madre Civic Club, Berkshire Hathaway, 
Pantorium Cleaners, Osti Tree Service and Chris 
Campbell and the Huck Finn Fishing Guides, and 
L.A. County.

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Pg. 7

FOOD & DRINK

ARTS Pg. 8

HEALTHY LIVING

 Pg. 10

GOOD LIFE

 Pg. 11

THE WORLD AROUND 
US Pg. 12

OPINION Pg. 13

LEGAL NOTICES

FYI 

 Pg. 18