A former Laguna Beach resident who authorities say befriended small-business owners and stole more than $1.5 million from them was sentenced Monday to more than five years in federal prison.

Mulder became the subject of a police fraud investigation in January 2016 after the owner of JAC Wines in Laguna Beach told police that he suspected his accountant had stolen $200,000 from him.

LAGUNA BEACH A 34-year-old woman who said she was an accountant with a degree from Pepperdine University is accused of embezzling $1.5 million from five Orange County businesses and using the ...