Jonathan Martinez of Chino, California, pleaded guilty on May 8 to one felony count of unauthorized use of personal identifying information of another in connection to a foreclosure relief endeavor.
According to information from the office of the Ventura County District Attorney, an unnamed family in Thousand Oaks lost their home in foreclosure in April 2021. Shortly after the foreclosure sale, the family was inundated with solicitations from law firms recommending the family file a potential wrongful foreclosure. The family reached out to the Affinity Law Group, which advised the family they would be able to receive surplus funds if their former property’s sale price was greater than liens on title at the foreclosure sale.
Martinez worked at Affinity and intercepted a check in the amount of $84,110 in surplus funds that was to be sent to the family. He then forged the victims’ signatures and endorsements on the back of the check and deposited the funds into his personal bank account. He used the funds for his personal expenses – when the family failed to receive their check, Martinez either ignored their inquiries or made excuses regarding their payment.
The family filed a crime report in April 2022. Martinez’s bank recovered $30,000 of the stolen funds, while Martinez still owes over $50,000 in victim restitution.
Martinez faces up to four years and four months in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6.
That POS stole from those poor people