| For Immediate Release Case # 12HF2170
February 25, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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FORMER MARRIED COUPLE CONVICTED OF STEALING $330,000 FROM HUSBAND’S 89-YEAR-OLD MOTHER
SANTA ANA – A former married couple was convicted today of stealing $330,000 from the husband’s then-89-year-old mother. Peter Garcia, 70, and Virginia Kay Furr-Garcia, 50, both of San Clemente, were found guilty by a jury of one felony count each of grand theft, conspiracy to defraud another of property, conspiracy to commit forgery, and theft from an elder with sentencing enhancements for property loss over $200,000 and aggravated white collar crime over $100,000. The defendants both face a maximum sentence of six years in state prison at their sentencing March 22, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
At the time of the crime, Garcia and Furr-Garcia were married, but have since divorced.
Between Jan. 1, 2009 and Sept. 27, 2010, Garcia and Furr-Garcia conspired to close four annuity funds belonging to Garcia’s mother, worth approximately $330,000, without the victim’s knowledge or consent. Garcia and Furr-Garcia closed the accounts and transferred the money into an account held jointly by Garcia and the victim.
Garcia then moved the money from the joint account with his mother into an account held by the defendants. The defendants then used the victim’s stolen money for personal living expenses including groceries, gas, and utility bills.
The victim discovered the theft when she could not afford to pay her bills at her assisted living community for several months. The victim reported the theft on March 10, 2011, to Orange County Sheriff’s Department, who investigated this case and arrested the defendants Aug. 1, 2012.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Doug Brannan of the Major Fraud Unit is prosecuting this case.
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