Local News in Brief : Man, 25, to Be Held Without Bail in Fraud

A Van Nuys man accused of masterminding a $1-million fraud was ordered held without bail Wednesday, one day after he was extradited from England to Los Angeles to face a 21-count federal indictment.

Thomas Leonard Balla, 25, is suspected of bilking more than 300 businesses nationwide through unpaid credit orders. U.S. Magistrate George H. King refused to set bail for Balla, who is being held at the federal prison at Terminal Island.

Assistant U.S. Atty. David A. Katz said Balla set up a phony retail store in Oxnard in 1985 to receive wholesale merchandise that was later resold out of two warehouses in Canoga Park. Katz said only a few of the wholesalers were paid for the merchandise that they sent Balla, which included clothing, food, electronic goods and fitness equipment.

Katz said Balla apparently left the United States in late 1985 or early 1986. He was arrested in London on Sept. 28, 1987, on suspicion of running a call-girl ring. Balla’s extradition was facilitated when the case was dropped recently amid allegations in the British press that the chief prosecutor in the case was involved with a prostitute, Katz said.