Arraignment held for Temecula and Fallbrook businessman accused of ripping off banks

RIVERSIDE - A businessman accused of conspiring with a Temecula doctor to perpetrate a $3.3 million money laundering scheme pleaded not guilty today to more than 50 felony charges.

Sammy Ciling, 49, of Temecula could face more than 60 years in prison if convicted of fraudulently obtaining loans for medical equipment that prosecutors allege was never acquired.

Ciling's co-defendant, 49-year-old Dr. Donald Woo Lee of Newport Beach, was slated to make his initial court appearance tomorrow.

Ciling appeared before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez, who scheduled a felony settle...