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By Susan E. Clarke
Coleman Allen died of heart failure and hypertension on April 6, 1996. While his family and friends may have been saddened by his death, many of his clients probably breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that prior to his death, Coleman Allen was under investigation in a series of violent crimes, including at least two murders and two attempted murders.
Allen was the owner of Premium Commercial Services, a small Huntington Beach, California, financial firm with a history of strong-arm tactics. He was alleged to have told delinquent debtors that he was going to “call in the boys in Chicago” or that he would “send someone to take care of” them. One client was reportedly so frightened of Allen and what he might do that the man took his family and left the state.
One of Allen’s favorite tactics – the one that brought him into the forefront of the investigations – was to force his debtors to take out life insurance policies naming Premium as the sole beneficiary. These were not just ordinary policies, however. These were irrevocable, term life insurance policies, usually for three to five times the amount that was owed Premium.
One of Allen’s clients, an engineer by the name of Sandip Sengupta, owed $200,000 to Premium At Allen’s urging, Sengupta took out a policy for $500,000. When he was unable to meet the payments on the policy, Premium began paying them for him. Shortly thereafter, Allen is alleged to have attacked Sengupta with a pipe wrench and to have tried to choke him. Sengupta went to the police and filed charges against Allen for attempted murder. Allen was eventually sentenced to 90 days of house arrest and three years probation. He was also ordered to attend anger counseling and do 300 hours community service.
Another of Allen’s clients was James Wengert, a financial investigator. Wengert owed Premium $438,000 and had a $500,000 life insurance policy that named Premium as the beneficiary. He was involved in a legal battle with Allen over the latter’s attempts to foreclose on Wengert’s Fountain Valley home. Three days after Wengert’s wife, Margaret, filed suit against Allen to stop the foreclosure, a hit man allegedly attempted to shoot Margaret Wengert. Tragically, the hit man became lost and ended up in the wrong Fountain Valley neighborhood. Investigators believe that when the man saw Jane Carver returning home from her morning run, he thought he had found Margaret Wengert. Jane Carver died of a gunshot to the face.
Allen wasn’t done with Wengert, but he bided his time. In the meantime, Allen is alleged to have turned his attention on Barry Skolnick, a Hollywood recording studio executive. Skolnick, who owed Premium over $1 million, had turned over his business, Hollywood Recording Services, to Premium in payment for part of his outstanding debt. He also took out a life insurance policy for $2.5 million, naming Premium as the sole beneficiary. When one of Skolnick’s creditors sued Premium for part of the value of the recording studio, Allen is believed to have hired a hit man to kill Skolnick. Skolnick was shot in the face as he arrived at work in January 1996. The security camera in the garage caught a picture of a light-colored van leaving the scene.
Investigators, working on tips and financial records from Premium, were in the process of building a case against Allen in the above attacks when they received word that Allen had died suddenly on April 6, 1996. But even in death, it is believed that Allen remained dangerous. Four days after Allen died, James Wengert was shot in the face by a man who demanded his wallet before pulling the trigger. Apparently, the hit man wanted to make sure he had the right victim this time.
Wengert was luckier than Skolnick or Carver. Although his jaw was shattered and he lost five teeth, Wengert survived the attempt. His description of the hit man led police to arrest Paul Gordon Alleyne. Alleyne, in turn, led police to Leonard Owen Mundy. These two small businessmen also had received loans from Premium. Police are unsure, however, whether the loan papers reflect actual loans or if they were payments for services rendered simply made out to look like loans.
The current owners of Premium are cooperating with authorities in the investigation. Allen’s widow, Barbara Allen, helped police with the case against Alleyne. Allen’s business partner, Jay Olins, assisted in locating Mundy. Attorneys for Premium have promised to cooperate in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
© Copyright 1996 Alikim Media