EDUCATION
Santa Ana College President Erlinda Martinez announced plans to retire at the end of June after 11 years at the helm. The Rancho Santiago Community College District has launched a nationwide search to fill the position.
During her tenure, campus instructional facilities expanded after passage of two general obligation bonds. The college also celebrated its 100th birthday last year with a scholarship campaign that raised more than $1 million, surpassing its goal of creating more than 100 annual student scholarships. It was also chosen as one of 15 community colleges to participate in a landmark program allowing them to offer bachelor’s degrees.
The widow of University of California-Irvine’s founding chancellor died last week at 96, the school said. Jean Hamilton Aldrich was involved in campus art and health activities as her husband, Daniel Aldrich Jr., guided what was then a young university for 22 years. She remained involved after his 1984 retirement.
Bankrupt Corinthian Colleges Inc., based in Santa Ana, was ordered to pay $820 million in restitution to its former students, plus civil penalties of more than $350 million. The $1.1 billion decision found the company’s advertising practices violated state law. From at least 2009, many of Corinthian’s claims and ads related to alumni job placement were untrue and/or misleading, according to the judgement issued by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow.
ENERGY
Lake Forest-based Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It’s seeking a buyer through a “363” sale process, essentially an asset sale, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana. Quantum secured a $6 million debtor-in-possession finance commitment from Douglas Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of second position secured creditors, that must gain court approval. The filing came after two debt defaults this month. The company hired Mackinac Partners LLC to help negotiate with creditors and intends to continue operations.
FINANCE
Mount Olympus Mortgage Co. in Irvine was awarded $25.1 million in damages when an Orange County jury decided several Mount Olympus employees transferred hundreds of the lender’s private consumer loan files to Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate Inc., according to Mount Olympus, which does business as TRU Mortgage. It sued Guaranteed Rate and former TRU Mortgage loan officer Benjamin Anderson after discovering the transfers.
A federal district court ordered former Costa Mesa-based debt relief company Morgan Drexen Inc. to pay $173 million in restitution and penalties, resolving a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit that claimed the company charged illegal fees and deceived customers, the bureau said. The order follows the court’s October finding that Morgan Drexen President and Chief Executive Walter Ledda violated federal law. Ledda was banned from providing debt relief services and ordered to pay restitution and penalties. Morgan Drexen shut down operations last June and filed for bankruptcy.
MANUFACTURING
San Juan Capistrano-based Seychelle Water Filtration Products replaced Chief Executive Carl Palmer with Chief Financial Officer James Place. Palmer will remain on the company’s board, and Place will retain the CFO title and duties. The parent company lost $1.4 million as revenue dropped 16% to $4.3 million for its 2015 fiscal year. It finished its most recent fiscal year, which ended Feb. 29, with three straight profitable quarters.
Santa Clarita-based marine industry products maker TruePlug was awarded $500,000 in damages in a lawsuit against Rancho Santa Margarita-based manufacturer Forespar Products Corp., a boating industry publication reported. TrugPlug claimed that Forespar breached an exclusive distribution agreement between the companies by selling its own marine plug instead of TruePlug’s emergency boat plug.
MEDIA
The PennySaver advertising publication is back less than a year after it folded. The new incarnation is PennySaverUSA .Com—a print publication and website with digital ads. The company is 95% employee-owned, according to Chief Executive Elaine Brandler Buckley. The return was backed by a group of undisclosed private investors in Irvine.
