PORT HUENEME WOMAN GETS MORE THAN 8 YEARS FOR ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE By Marjorie Hernandez mhernandez@vcstar A Port Hueneme woman was sentenced Tuesday to more than eight years in prison for stealing more than $200,000 from an elderly woman. Superior Court Judge Mark Borrell sentenced Julietta Quinones, 46, to eight years and eight months in prison. A jury April 24 found Quinones guilty of six counts of felony grand theft, one count of felony elder abuse, one count of filing a false tax return and two counts of failing to file a tax return. She also was found guilty of a special allegation of stealing more than $200,000. Prosecutor Tony Wold said the elderly woman once owned 14 rental properties in Ventura County. She needed help managing the finances on those properties when she met Quinones at Uno Mas Realty in Oxnard. Wold said Quinones gained the woman’s trust. She gave Quinones signed blank checks thinking Quinones was making mortgage payments on the properties. Quinones instead cashed the checks for personal use or made them out to family members, Wold said. Quinones was convicted of stealing $231,942, and Borrell ordered her to pay about $277,000 in restitution to the victim and $32,000 to the Franchise Tax Board. The 71-year old victim, who addressed the court Tuesday, said she lost all her properties and was financially devastated. She said she could not afford to visit children and grandchildren who live out of state. “This is a consistent theme in cases of financial elder abuse,” Wold said. “They need help, and there are people all too willing to take advantage once they gained the elder’s trust. Anyone, especially elders, should never allow anyone complete access and control over their finances. If for some reason they need to do so, they should make sure there is a system of oversight to prevent this type of crime from happening.”
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 21:34:50 +0000
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