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# Local businessman to face fraud charges Eco-friendly
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/local-businessman-to-face-fraud-charges-eco-friendly/
- Published: 2005-06-15T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:15:18.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import

*Former media agency heads deny allegations*

*By Daily Press staff*

DOWNTOWN LA — A local media agency owner who is accused of stealing money from his clients will face charges of fraud and conspiracy next month.

Thomas Edward Rubin, the chairman and CEO of Focus Media, Inc., a media placement agency once located in Santa Monica, appeared in federal court in Los Angeles last week where he was arraigned on federal fraud charges, according to Richard Garcia, assistant director in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, and Debra Yang, United States Attorney for the Central District of California.

Rubin, 57, of Malibu, was taken into custody on June 2 on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, which are included in a seven-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. Also arrested was Thomas Patrick Sullivan, 63, a resident of Westlake Village, who had been the chief financial officer of Focus Media.

Rubin was released on a $2 million bond. Sullivan had been released the previous week on a $250,000 bond. They both pleaded not guilty.

The trial is scheduled for July 12\. A status hearing is scheduled for June 27 in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.

According to the indictment, Focus’ principal business was to buy advertising time on television and radio stations for clients, including Sears, Roebuck and Company, which was Focus’ largest client. Among other allegations, the indictment charges that, after Rubin and Sullivan received approximately $35 million from Sears to pay for advertisements that Focus placed on Sears’ behalf in 1999 and 2000, Rubin and Sullivan failed to pay the media outlets and, instead, allegedly misappropriated and converted to their own purposes approximately $23 million.

Sears had fired the agency and filed suit alleging breach of contract and constructive fraud, claiming the media shop was holding on to as much as $50 million Sears had given it to purchase media.

Focus Media went into bankruptcy in 2000\. It was Sears’ missed media payments that eventually forced Focus Media out of business, as NBC, ABC and PaxTV filed to move the company into involuntary bankruptcy over unpaid media bills owed by Focus, according to an article posted on Adweek on Oct. 16, 2000.

Rubin’s attorney, David Lafaille, who is based in Santa Monica, was unavailable for comment on Tuesday. But he told Adweek last week that, “This seems to be a terrible mistake. The U.S. attorney for the Central District of California alleges causes of action virtually identical to those previously pled by Sears and NBC. Those civil cases were dismissed. I expect a similar favorable outcome here. We have complete faith in our judicial system and know that any fair-minded judge or jury will exonerate him.”

Bruce Margolin, Sullivan’s attorney, said his client denies all allegations.

The case was investigated jointly by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 15, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061505.pdf?ref=smdp.com)