Two Australians charged over sham raid, extortion in California

Two Australians with a military background are accused of conducting a sham raid to enter a “wealthy” victim’s home in California, only to threaten him with violence and deportation.

The L.A. Federal Courthouse. Picture: Getty

Two Australians who served in the military are among four men charged with extorting $US37m ($AU56m) from a Chinese man in California in a sham raid paid for by the victim’s former business partner.

The men are accused of pretending to be law enforcement officials to enter the victim’s home, only to threaten him with violence and deportation and for one of the Australians to allegedly attack him and his son.

According to court documents, the operation was led by Max Turbett, a former British soldier who ran Australian private investigation and asset recovery firm Oracle Investigations.

He recruited ex-Australian soldier Matthew Hart – the owner of risk management company Agilis Global – to provide security for the alleged extortion attempt five years ago.

“The defendants in this case allegedly believed they could carry out vigilante justice by using official police powers to enter the home of vulnerable victims and extorting them out of millions of dollars,” the FBI’s Los Angeles assistant director in charge Akil Davis said.

FBI’s Los Angeles assistant director in charge Akil Davis. Picture: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images via AFP

Turbett and Hart teamed up with Steven Lankford, who was a sworn deputy in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, as well as retired officer Glen Cozart.

The men were due to be arraigned in the US District Court on Monday (local time), with the indictment revealing how the 2019 raid stemmed from a lengthy legal battle between the Chinese owners of a rubber chemical manufacturing company.

One of the owners contacted Turbett to find a “solution to finish the problem”, allegedly telling him that if he helped her, they could “both retire”.

While Interpol issued a “red notice” for the victim in 2013 relating to criminal charges tied to the business dispute in China, it did not authorise the arrest of the permanent US resident.

But Lankford allegedly used police systems to look up the victim and then drove the men in an unmarked police vehicle to the victim’s house, where Lankford allegedly identified himself as an officer while Cozart said he was an immigration official.

The men allegedly prevented the victim, his wife and two children from leaving for hours until the victim relinquished his interest in the business and turned over almost $US37m ($AU56m).

The AGILIS Global website which is owned by ex-Australian Soldier Matthew Hart. Picture: Supplied

During the raid, the victim tried to escape, only for Hart to allegedly pull him up a staircase, slam him against a wall and choke him, saying: “Don’t f*** with me, I’m not the police.”

When the victim’s 21-year-old son tried to intervene, Hart allegedly shoved him into a wall.

“There are a lot of people behind this that are less peaceful than us,” he later said, according to court documents.

“You don’t want anything to happen to your family, right?”

Cozart and Lankford allegedly told the victim and his wife they would be deported if they did not comply with their demands, and their four-year-old son would be placed in foster care.

Turbett’s firm was later paid $US419,813, with the victim’s former business partner telling him in an email: “Your [sic] done very good jobs … Thank you so much for everything.”

A grand jury gave the green light to charge the men with conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion, conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under colour of law.

“It is critical that we hold public officials, including law enforcement officers, to the same standards as the rest of us,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said.

Originally published as Two Australians charged over sham raid, extortion in California