Former Deputies Charged in Extortion Case

LOS ANGELES — Federal prosecutors have charged two former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and two ex-foreign military officials with threatening a Chinese national and his family during a staged raid at their Orange County home in June 2019. The accused allegedly demanded $37 million and control over the victim's business, which remains unnamed. The victim, a legal permanent resident, was reportedly forced into a room with his wife and children for hours, during which they were threatened with deportation and physical violence. The incident unfolded when the group, including retired sheriff's deputy Steven Arthur Lankford and Glen Louis Cozart, arrived at the victim's home in Irvine. Prosecutors allege that Lankford used his position to gather information on the victim from a national database prior to the raid. The group is accused of physically assaulting the businessman, including slamming him against a wall and choking him, to enforce their demands. Additionally, the victim's business partner, a Chinese woman not indicted in the case, is said to have financed the operation. The charges also include Max Samuel Bennett Turbett, a former British military member, and Matthew Phillip Hart, an Australian ex-soldier. Turbett has agreed to extradition to the U.S. for trial, while Hart's attorney has not commented on the case. Authorities have condemned the actions of the former deputies, emphasizing that such abuses of power represent serious civil rights violations.