A Hawaii man has pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge for defrauding a 78-year-old in Orange County, California, out of nearly $2 million in a scheme involving the victim’s home and yacht.
John Tamahere McCabe of Kailua, Hawaii, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of wire fraud. According to his plea agreement, McCabe offered to help the unnamed victim sell his yacht but instead used fabricated documents to change the ownership of the yacht to McCabe’s name. McCabe then diverted the proceeds of the sale to his own personal bank account.
McCabe also convinced his victim to transfer his million-dollar residence into a McCabe-controlled limited liability company (LLC), claiming that it would protect the victim’s most-valuable asset and provide tax benefits. Working without the victim’s knowledge or consent, McCabe made himself the sole manager of the LLC and took out $1 million in loans secured by the victim’s residence, effectively erasing its equity. McCabe defaulted on the loans – he spent the funds on personal needs – and the victim’s residence was sold at a foreclosure sale, leaving the victim homeless.
As a result of his chicanery, McCabe defrauded the victim out of approximately $1.8 million. He is scheduled for an Oct. 16 sentencing hearing and faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
How can people be so cruel? What the heck is wrong with our society? So greedy but not willing to work for what they covet so much. Throw the book at this a-hole.