Billionaire Bren gets scammed

Pretty funny story - somebody stole Donald Bren's $1.4 million federal tax refund check, set up a series of bank accounts under Bren's name, and then withdrew nearly $1.1 million. Bren, chairman of the Irvine Co., received the refund because he overpaid his estimated quarterly taxes. No word on who the scamster is and how he managed to get the check in the first place. From the OC Business Journal:

According to a court document, money in the fraudulent accounts was transferred to three people, in roughly equal amounts totaling a little more than $200,000, from Feb. 26 to March 11. About $250,000 of the money was left by the time federal officials seized the accounts in June, as indicated in a legal notice filed with the Wall Street Journal. Federal investigators have bank surveillance photos of the suspect--a 40-something man who looks nothing like Bren--and the names of three people who were transferred money in February and March.