Watsonville woman suspected in $66K elder abuse scheme, separate loan refinancing scam
By Jennifer Squires - Sentinel Staff Writer
Article Launched: 07/12/2008 01:32:13 AM PDT
A Watsonville woman under investigation in Monterey County for allegedly duping dozens of defaulting homeowners out of thousands of dollars has been jailed in Santa Cruz County for unrelated grand theft charges.
Melissa Dawn Garcia, 27, has pleaded not guilty to one count of elder financial abuse and one count of forgery in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.
Garcia, whose profession was listed as "loan officer" in the County Jail log, allegedly convinced a 76-year-old Salinas woman to invest tens of thousands of dollars through Garcia, according to prosecutor Bill Atkinson.
In a separate investigation in Monterey County, Garcia is suspected of targeting Salinas Valley residents in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure, Gonzales police said last month. They allege she took thousands of dollars from more than 40 victims in a bogus refinancing scam by telling them she could get them new home loans on more favorable terms, according to police. She asked the hand over $2,500 to $2,800 in "good faith" money, police said.
In court Friday, Garcia's attorney asked Judge Jeff Almquist to release her again. The request was denied and Garcia is being held in County Jail on $150,000 bail. She returns to court in early August for a preliminary hearing.
She faces four years in state prison.
Abridged
SOURCE: Mercury News
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