Edison High Teacher Held as Money Laundering Suspect

A science teacher at Edison High School in Huntington Beach has been arrested on suspicion of money laundering after police confiscated more than $1.3 million in cash and gold, a 53-foot boat, a Porsche and two Maserati automobiles.

The teacher, James R. Hoyland, 42, of Dana Point, was arrested by police Tuesday at his home. Also arrested was John F. Ford, 41, a self-employed boat maker, at his Long Beach home.

Police said they suspect that money laundering activities were connected with drug smuggling, but neither Hoyland nor Ford were arrested on drug charges.

“We have been unable to determine any legitimate source for this income,” said Bob Oakley, a spokesman for the Newport Beach police who made the arrest. “We have conducted a thorough investigation, and (Hoyland) did not inherit it, win it or get it from any other legitimate sources.”

He added, “Here was a teacher earning just $44,000 a year, and yet he was able to pay cash for a $200,000 boat and ’87 (car).”

Hoyland and Ford are charged with money laundering, a felony. Oakley said it is only a “supposition” by police that the money came from drug dealing, because “his activity is consistent with that of one who is involved with laundering money for narcotics dealers.”

Money laundering of drug profits, Oakley said, occurs when drug dealers try to conceal the source of their income by giving their profits to seemingly reputable individuals to deposit in their bank accounts. These individuals in turn withdraw the money from their accounts, Oakley said, giving it back to the drug dealers in cash or making deposits to the drug dealers’ bank accounts.

During a daylong operation Tuesday, officers from the Newport Beach and Long Beach police departments and the California Department of Justice served search warrants at locations in Orange and Los Angeles counties that netted the cash and gold and five cars belonging to the two suspects, Oakley said.

The investigation began a year ago, Oakley said when the Bank of Newport notified the Newport Beach Police Department that Hoyland was making suspicious cash transactions just under $10,000. Transactions over $10,000 must be reported by banks to the federal government.

But state law requires banks to report suspicious cash transactions of more than $5,000.

A Newport Beach police investigation showed that from October, 1986, to February, 1987, Hoyland deposited $60,000 at the bank and withdrew large amounts of cash.

Lawrence Kemper, superintendent of the Huntington Beach Union High School District, sent Hoyland a letter Wednesday telling him that if he returns to school after Christmas vacation, he will not be allowed to return to the classroom but will be assigned to unspecified office duties.

Hoyland, who has been a teacher at Edison High since 1969, teaches life and physical sciences to ninth-graders, Kemper said.

Kemper said none of those with whom Hoyland worked had an inkling that he may have been involved in money laundering. “We knew he drove a Maserati,” Kemper said.

Curiosity Not Aroused

But he said this did not arouse curiosity because Hoyland’s Maserati was not “one of those really exotic kinds. His was one of those that sold in the $27,000 to $30,000 range. . . . Since he was a single guy, it didn’t seem that unusual that he was driving a $30,000 car.”

Nor did Hoyland’s 53-foot boat attract attention, said Jack Kennedy, Edison High’s principal. “I heard him talk about his boat, and I remember his saying he went fishing on it in the summer. But I didn’t know much more about it.”

Kennedy said Hoyland did not spend money freely. “He seemed like a frugal guy,” he said. “We had no clue. . . . That’s why this is such a jolt.”

Kennedy said that Hoyland, who is single, lives in a modest apartment in Dana Point.

Kennedy said Hoyland was well regarded. But he did not stand out among the 110 teachers at Edison: He did not win teaching awards, nor was he active in student extracurricular activities.

“He was just another teacher,” Kennedy said. “He kind of kept to himself.”

Called Hard Worker

Kennedy added: “Don’t get me wrong. He is a very fine science teacher, a hard worker and is always prepared for class. He is an effective disciplinarian, and the kids think he is a good teacher.”

Hoyland’s arrest has already been felt at Edison, Kennedy said. Tuesday, a Newport Beach detective served a search warrant on Kennedy so he could look through Hoyland’s locker.

“Mr. Hoyland had provided the detective with the keys to his locker,” Kennedy said. “The detective didn’t find anything (incriminating), just a couple of shirts-- nothing else.”

But the full impact of Hoyland’s arrest, Kennedy said, will be felt when students and teachers return to campus Jan. 4 following Christmas vacation. “I think (Hoyland’s arrest) will have a big impact . . . on the faculty, staff and kids in his (five) classes.

“I think this will be an absolute shock to them. . . . It just seems so out of character for him.”

Hoyland and Ford were being held at the Newport Beach City Jail, with bail set at $2 million each.