| For Immediate Release December 27, 2006 |
Contact: Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel (714) 347-8408 Office (714) 292-2718 Cell |
COURT APPOINTED CONSERVATOR TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR EMBEZZLING $900,000 FROM DECEASED WOMAN’S ESTATE
SANTA ANA – A court appointed estate conservator will be arraigned tomorrow on charges of embezzling over $900,000 from the estate of a deceased Orange County woman. Jennifer Ann Wenger, 53, San Juan Capistrano, is charged with 73 counts of grand theft by embezzlement with enhancements for committing aggravated white collar crime over $500,000 and property damage over $150,000.
If convicted, Wenger faces up to 56 years in prison. She is currently being held on
$1 million bail and must prove prior to posting bail that the money is from a legal and legitimate source. The arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow, December 28, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-57, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Between October 12, 2004 and February 28, 2006, Wenger is accused of embezzling more than $900,000 from the estate of a deceased woman, Goldie Carlova. Wenger was the court appointed conservator and administrator of the estate and is accused of writing 65 checks to herself from the estate, as well as depositing eight annuity checks into her personal account. The annuity checks had been intended for Ms. Carlova while she was alive, but had continued to be sent by mistake after Ms. Carlova died.
Wenger is accused of depositing most of the embezzled money into online “e-wallets” in foreign countries and using the money for Internet gambling. She is also accused of using $73,700 from the Carlova estate to reimburse a separate estate in San Bernardino County from which money was missing and for which she was also the conservator.
Deputy District Attorney Marc Labreche of the Economic Crimes Unit is prosecuting this case.
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