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RECEIVED FOR SCANNING
VENTURA SUPERIOR COURT
JUL 27 2022
CARLETON R. BURCH (Bar No. 130701)
grb@amclaw.com
DAVID J. BILLINGS (Bar No. 175383)
djb@amclaw.com
ANDERSON, McPHARLIN & CONNERS LLP
707 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 4000
Los Angeles, California 90017-3623
TELEPHONE: (213) 688-0080 @ FACSIMILE: (213) 622-7594
Attorneys for Plaintiff
TRAVELERS CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY OF AMERICA
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF VENTURA
TRAVELERS CASUALTY AND SURETY Case No.
COMPANY OF AMERICA,
COMPLAINT FOR:
Plaintiff,
1) FRAUD
vs. 2) BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY
3) CONVERSION
DANA VINES, a/k/a DANA HISCOCK- 4) UNJUST ENRICHMENT -—
VINES, a/k/a DANA T. HISCOCK-VINES, EMBEZZLEMENT
a/k/a DANA HISCOCK, and Does 1-10, 5) MONEY HAD AND RECEIVED
6) RECEIPT OF STOLEN PROPERTY
Defendants. 7) QUIA TIMET
Plaintiff TRAVELERS CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY OF AMERICA
(hereinafter “TRAVELERS”), a corporation, for its complaint against Defendants and each of
them, on information and belief, avers, alleges, and asserts as follows:
NA OF ACTION
1 This is a subrogation action brought by TRAVELERS to recover damages caused
by the fraudulent embezzlement scheme and activities of the Defendants.
PARTIES
2. TRAVELERS is a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of
Connecticut, and licensed to do business in the State of California.
3. TRAVELERS is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that defendant DANA
VINES, a/k/a DANA HISCOCK-VINES, a/k/a DANA T. HISCOCK-VINES, a/k/a DANA.
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HISCOCK, (“HISCOCK”), is an individual currently residing in the State of California, City of
Thousand Oaks.
4. The true names and capacities, whether individual, corporate, associate or
otherwise of defendants DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, are unknown to TRAVELERS who,
therefore, sues such defendants, and each of them, by such fictitious names. TRAVELERS is
informed and believes and thereon alleges that each of the defendants designated herein as a
fictitiously named defendant is, in some manner, responsible for the events and happenings herein
referred to, and caused the damage to TRAVELERS as herein alleged. TRAVELERS will amend
this complaint to allege such true names and capacities when same are ascertained.
5. TRAVELERS is informed and believes that at all relevant times mentioned herein,
each defendant, including all fictitiously named defendants, was and is the agent, joint venturer,
partner, co-conspirator, and/or employee of each of the remaining defendants. By doing the things
hereinafter mentioned, each was acting within the scope of such agency, partnership, joint venture,
and/or employment and in furtherance of such conspiracy thereby rendering each defendant,
including all fictitiously-named defendants, jointly, severally and vicariously liable for the acts
and conduct of one and another in furtherance of said partnership, agency, joint venture,
conspiracy, and/or employment.
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
6. At all times mentioned herein, 33 Partners, Inc. (“33 PARTNERS”) was the first
named insured under Bond/Policy No. 005-LB-107006365 (the “POLICY”), which provided
coverage, among other things, to pay for direct losses sustained as a result of Employee Theft in
accordance with the terms and conditions of the POLICY.
7. HISCOCK was employed by 33 PARTNERS as its Operations Manager. In this
position HISCOCK was responsible for 33 PARTNERS’s payroll, and she had access to 33
PARTNERS’s payroll system, bank accounts, and healthcare coverage system and records,
including the ability to initiate authorized ACH payments.
8. TRAVELERS is informed and believes and thereon alleges that HISCOCK and
DOES | to 10 carried out the fraud and embezzlement by abusing HISCOCK’s position within 33
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PARTNERS by fraudulently issuing herself unauthorized salary and bonus payments, using 33
PARTNERS’s funds to pay off her personal credit cards, and fraudulently added her children on
the employee roster for healthcare coverage without authorization and failed to reimburse 33
PARTNERS for sums as required by 33 PARTNERS policies and procedures. Through this
fraudulent conduct, HISCOCK and DOES 1 through 10 were able to embezzle not less than
$1,126,305.55 from 33 PARTNERS.
9. TRAVELERS is informed and believes and thereon alleges that HISCOCK, and
DOES | to 10, covered-up their fraudulent scheme by manipulating 33 PARTNERS’s records.
10. TRAVELERS is informed and believes and thereon alleges that through the trust
reposed in HISCOCK by her employer, she was able to perpetrate and conceal her scheme until its
discovery.
11, | TRAVELERS is informed and believes and thereon alleges that HISCOCK used a
portion of the funds she stole from 33 PARTNERS to purchase a residence located at 937 Dunbar
Lane, Thousand Oaks, California, 91360 (“PROPERTY”).
12. 33 PARTNERS submitted a claim to TRAVELERS, claiming that it had sustained
a loss within the coverage of the POLICY as a result of the theft and embezzlement by HISCOCK.
13. TRAVELERS duly reviewed 33 PARTNERS’s claim for benefits under the
POLICY and TRAVELERS paid the claim in the amount of $1,111,305.55, which represents the
amount of the loss less the POLICY’s $15,000 retention.
14. | TRAVELERS is equitably and contractually subrogated to any and all rights 33
PARTNERS has against all Defendants under the terms of the POLICY and by way of California
law.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Fraud)
15. | TRAVELERS refers to, incorporates and re-alleges by this reference the allegations
in paragraphs | through 14 as though fully set forth herein.
16. | TRAVELERS is informed and believes and thereon alleges that HISCOCK and
DOES | through 10, inclusive, directed and/or participated in an embezzlement scheme pursuant
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to which they misappropriated funds of 33 PARTNERS as described above. By this scheme,
Defendants induced 33 PARTNERS to believe that the payroll payments to HISCOCK were
authorized, that the payments to HISCOCK’s personal credit card were authorized, and that the
payments for healthcare coverage were authorized and in compliance with 33 PARTNERS’s
policies and procedures.
17. TRAVELERS is informed and believes and thereon alleges that HISCOCK, and
DOES | through 10, fraudulently obtained funds of 33 PARTNER and falsely represented to 33
PARTNERS that the payroll payments were legitimate, that the payments to HISCOCK’s personal
credit card were authorized, and that the payments for healthcare coverage were authorized and in
compliance with 33 PARTNERS’s policies and procedures. HISCOCK and DOES 1 through 10
knew that the payroll payments were fraudulent, that the payments to HISCOCK’s personal credit
card were not authorized, and that the payments for healthcare coverage were not authorized and
not in compliance with 33 PARTNERS’s policies and procedures.
18. Defendants, and each of them, knowingly and willfully conspired and agreed
among themselves to perpetrate the fraud described above.
19, Defendants, and each of them, did the acts and things described herein pursuant to,
and in furtherance of the conspiracy and the above-alleged fraudulent scheme.
20. Defendants, and each of them, furthered the conspiracy by cooperation with, or lent
aid and encouragement to, or ratified and adopted the acts of, each other by participating in the
fraudulent scheme.
21. At all times relevant, Defendants behaved in a manner that was malicious, willful
and intended to cause harm to 33 PARTNERS.
22. Defendants’ knowing and intentional creation of this fraudulent scheme was done
with the intent to deprive 33 PARTNERS of funds in an amount not less than $1,126,305.55.
23. As aresult, TRAVELERS, as assignee and subrogee of 33 PARTNERS’s claims,
has been damaged in the amount of at least $1,126,305.55, and such other amounts to be proven at
trial including, but not limited to, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as permitted by law
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24. and all claim and recovery expenses, all occasioned by HISCOCK and DOES 1
through 10 as described herein.
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Breach of Fiduciary Duty)
25. | TRAVELERS refers to, incorporates and re-alleges by this reference the allegations
in paragraphs 1 through 23 as though fully set forth herein.
26. Asan employee of 33 PARTNERS, with access to 33 PARTNERS’s bank
accounts, payroll systems, and health care coverage roster and records, HISCOCK owed a
fiduciary duty to 33 PARTNERS, including the duty of loyalty and due care.
27. HISCOCK breached her fiduciary duties by, inter alia, conspiring with DOES 1 to
10, to embezzle 33 PARTNERS’s funds for her own personal benefit as described above.
28. — In doing the acts describe herein above, HISCOCK acted in a manner that was
tmnalicious, willful and intended to cause harm to 33 PARTNERS.
29. As aresult, TRAVELERS, as assignee and subrogee of 33 PARTNERS’s claims, has
been damaged in the amount of at least $1,126,305.55 and such other amounts to be proven at trial
including, but not limited to, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as permitted by law and all
claim and recovery expenses, all occasioned by HISCOCK’s activities as described herein.
‘HIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Conversion)
30. TRAVELERS refers to, incorporates and re-alleges by this reference the allegations
in paragraphs | through 28 as though fully set forth herein.
31. As alleged herein, HISCOCK and DOES 1 through 10 embezzled funds owned by
33 PARTNERS to purchase goods and services for the personal benefit of themselves. Said
Defendants converted 33 PARTNERS’s funds for their own use.
32. TRAVELERS is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that HISCOCK and
DOES | to 10 have not returned the funds which are the rightful property of 33 PARTNERS.
33. Asa direct and proximate result of the conversion of these specific funds,
TRAVELERS as assignee and subrogee of 33 PARTNERS’s claims, has been damaged in the
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minimum amount of at least $1,126,305.55 and such other amounts to be proven at trial including,
but not limited to, prejudgment and post-judgment interest as permitted by law, and all claim and
recovery expenses, all as a result of the wrongful activities described herein.
FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Unjust Enrichment — Embezzlement)
34. | TRAVELERS refers to, incorporates and re-alleges by this reference the allegations
in paragraphs | through 32 as though fully set forth herein.
35. | TRAVELERS is informed and believes and thereon alleges that defendants
HISCOCK and DOES 1 to 10 conspired together and conducted the fraudulent scheme as
described above whereby said defendants embezzled, misappropriated and converted funds from
and belonging to 33 PARTNERS’s for the use and benefit of Defendants and each of them. Asa
result said Defendants embezzled at least $1,126,305.55 of 33 PARTNERS’s funds.
36. Asaresult of the scheme, said Defendants were unjustly enriched in an amount of
not less than $1,126,305.55 and such funds should be disgorged to TRAVELERS as assignee and
subrogee of 33 PARTNERS’s claims.
FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Money Had And Received)
37. | TRAVELERS refers to, incorporates and re-alleges by this reference the allegations
in paragraphs | through 35 as though fully set forth herein.
38. 33 PARTNERS discovered that Defendants, had fraudulently received at least
$1,126,305.55 in funds that belonged to 33 PARTNERS and actively concealed this fact from 33
PARTNERS.
39. Atno time did Defendants have any rights to use 33 PARTNERS’s funds for their
own personal benefit.
40. Defendants became indebted to 33 PARTNERS as a result of the facts and
circumstances set forth above. Therefore, TRAVELERS, as assignee and subrogee of 33
PARTNERS’ claims, has been damaged by the money had and received by HISCOCK and
DOES | to 10, and each of them, in the minimum amount of $1,126,305.55.
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SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Receipt of Stolen Property, Penal Code § 496(a))
41. | TRAVELERS refers to, incorporates and re-alleges by this reference the allegations
in paragraphs | through 39 as though fully set forth herein.
42. | HISCOCK and DOES | to 10, received money stolen from 33 PARTNERS.
43. | HISCOCK and DOES | to 10 knew that the money they received from 33
PARTNERS was stolen from 33 PARTNERS.
46. | HISCOCK and DOES | to 10 received 33 PARTNERS’s money knowing that it
was obtained by theft and through the fraudulent activity described above, and HISCOCK and
DOES | to 10 concealed and withheld the stolen money from 33 PARTNERS.
47. Despite knowledge that the money was stolen from 33 PARTNERS, HISCOCK
and DOES | to 10 continued to accept the stolen funds from through the fraudulent payroll
payment, fraudulent payments to HISCOCK’s personal credit card, and through the fraudulent and
unauthorized healthcare coverage payments.
48. From 2012 and through present, HISCOCK and DOES | to 10 retained more than
$1,126,305.55 of 33 PARTNERS’s funds.
49. | HISCOCK and DOES 1 to 10 continue to withhold the money stolen from 33
PARTNERS.
50. Asa direct and proximate result of HISCOCK and DOES | to 10’s receipt of the
stolen funds, 33 PARTNERS, and TRAVELERS as assignee and subrogee of 33 PARTNERS’s
claims, has been damaged in the minimum amount of at least $1,126,305.55, and such other
amounts to be proven at trial including, but not limited to, treble damages, costs of suit and
attorneys’ fees pursuant to California Penal Code § 496(c), prejudgment and post-judgment
interest as permitted by law, and all claim and recovery expenses, all as a result of the wrongful
activities of HISCOCK and DOES | to 10 as described herein.
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SEVENTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Quia Timet)
51. | TRAVELERS refers to, incorporates and re-alleges by this reference the allegations
in paragraphs 1 through 50 as though fully set forth herein.
52. TRAVELERS, as assignee and subrogee of 33 PARTNERS'’s claims is entitled to
recover the funds HISCOCK stole from 33 PARTNERS, and HISCOCK is indebted to 33
PARTNERS for the funds she stole 33 PARTNERS.
53. | TRAVELERS is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that HISCOCK
tefuses to return the funds she stole from 33 PARTNERS.
54. | TRAVELERS justifiably fears that it has and will sustain a loss, as assignee and
subrogee of 33 PARTNERS'’s claims.
55. | TRAVELERS is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that unless restrained
enjoined, HISCOCK will attempt to transfer the funds she stole from 33 PARTNERS and
encumber or transfer the PROPERTY.
56. By virtue of the equitable doctrine of quia timet, TRAVELERS is entitled to
restrain and enjoin HISCOCK from transferring any of the funds stolen from 33 PARTNERS or
transferring or encumbering the PROPERTY.
57. TRAVELERS is without a plain, speedy or adequate remedy at law, and will be
irreparably and permanently injured unless this Court grants the equitable relief sought herein.
58. | TRAVELERS seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction to restrain and enjoin
HISCOCK, and any entity or individual acting on her behalf, from transferring or encumbering the
PROPERTY, and from transferring the funds she stole from 33 PARTNERS.
PRAYER
WHEREFORE, TRAVELERS demands and prays for entry of orders and judgment
against all defendants, and each of them, as follows:
1. General and compensatory damages in the minimum amount of $1,126,305.55,
according to proof;
2. Treble damages pursuant to Penal Code § 496(c);
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3. Attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to Penal Code § 496(c);
4, Pre-judgment interest and post-judgment interest as permitted by law;
5. For an order preliminarily and permanently enjoining and restraining HISCOCK,
and any individual or entity acting on her behalf, and each of them, from selling, assigning,
transferring or disposing or encumbering HISCOCK’s assets and property; and,
6. For an order granting a lien upon all assets and property, including the
PROPERTY, personal and mixed, owned by HISCOCK, and property in which HISCOCK has an
interest.
7. Costs of suit; and
8. For such other and further relief as the court deems proper.
DATED: July 27, 2022 ANDERSON, McPHARLIN & CONNERS LLP
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By:
Carleton R. Burch
David J. Billings
Attomeys for Plaintiff TRAVELERS CASUALTY
AND SURETY COMPANY OF AMERICA
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COMPLAINT