SANTA ANA – A Ladera Ranch man has been found guilty of felony charges for participating in a scheme in which 1,000-plus misdemeanor criminal cases and traffic violations in all were fixed in exchange for bribe money in Orange County Superior Court.

He was accused of providing information on 15 traffic infractions and at least one driving-under-the-influence case to a middleman, who in turn provided the information to the scheme’s mastermind.

Following a six-day trial, a federal jury on Thursday convicted Javed Asefi, 44, of conspiring to violate the federal racketeering laws and paying bribes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He also was convicted of lying on a citizenship application, and sending an associate to determine if a co-defendant was cooperating against him, authorities said.

The local legal system was rocked in 2015 when it surfaced that an Orange County Superior Court clerk was running a scheme in which he altered more than 1,000 misdemeanor criminal cases and traffic offenses in exchange for bribe money over five years.

Authorities said the former clerk, Jose Lopez Jr., took in $250,000 to $500,000 in all. Lopez pleaded guilty to federal charges in March and faces up to 20 years in prison when is sentenced on Sept. 22.

Related Articles Orange County court clerk pleads guilty to illegally fixing more than 1,000 DUI, traffic cases

Court clerk, 11 recruiters accused of illegally fixing more than 1,000 DUI, traffic cases

Orange County Superior Court record-fixing probe may involve 1,000 traffic cases; clerk suspected of altering documents

Federal grand jury probes ticket-fixing scheme involving 1,000 Orange County Superior Court cases Lopez employed middlemen to collect bribe money, sometimes charging up to $8,000 per case, prosecutors said.

As a clerk with access to the court’s computer system, Lopez would change records to make it appear that the case was dismissed or that the defendants had paid fees, pleaded to a lesser charge or performed community service when they had not.

Asefi was accused of being one of 11 recruiters, people outside of the courthouse who spread the word that tickets could be changed for a payment.

Authorities said 11 people had their traffic tickets dismissed as a result of Asefi’s participation in the scheme. He faces up to 45 years in federal prison when he returns to court for sentencing on Dec. 8.

The scheme ended in spring 2015 when the court learned of the misconduct after a courtroom employee noticed a single document was missing in a court file that contained Lopez’s employee ID. Other cases were soon inspected, prompting judges to re-open hundreds of traffic cases.

Prosecutors said Asefi was the scheme’s final defendant to have a pending case. The other 11 were found guilty.