Newport Couple’s Mail Halted on Fraud Allegations

LOS ANGELES —  The U.S. Postal Service won court permission Friday to block delivery of business letters addressed to an Orange County couple suspected of using false promises of cash or jewelry to coax money from victims through the mail.

U.S. District Judge A. Andrew Hauk issued a temporary restraining order requiring the postmasters at the Newport Beach and Santa Ana post offices to detain all mail addressed to three companies operated by Norman A. King and his wife, Cynthia P. King.

At a hearing June 28, Hauk will decide whether to extend the order.

In the meantime, the Postal Service will hold mail addressed to The Heart Fund and The Order of the Cross, which receive mail at a Newport Beach post office box, and Diamond Sweepstakes at 3609 MacArthur Blvd. in Santa Ana.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Brian Kipnis said the Postal Service has also begun administrative proceedings to determine whether the Kings’ companies use false representations to obtain money through the mail.

No attorney appeared in court Friday to represent the Kings. Norman King was released from federal custody Friday on $50,000 bail on criminal charges stemming from the mail-order business, Kipnis said. Cynthia King could not be reached for comment.

When the Postal Service filed its complaint in U.S. District Court June 9, it said that hundreds of letters a day were pouring in to the three companies and that the Kings had received a “substantial” amount of money.

The Postal Service said the Diamond Sweepstakes promises a $25,000 diamond or up to $50,000 cash for a $10 “processing fee,” but victims get nothing or a tiny chip of an unidentified material worth less than $1.

The Order of the Cross and The Heart Fund purport to be charitable organizations offering cash prizes or gold jewelry in exchange for contributions of $10 or more, but no prizes are sent and the “contributions” end up in the Kings’ pockets, the Postal Service alleged.