By Jim Shilander
A formerly married couple from San Clemente was convicted of stealing $330,000 from the mother of one of the defendants Monday.
Peter Garcia, 70, and Virginia Kay Furr-Garcia, 50, were each convicted of felony grand theft, conspiracy to defraud another of property, conspiracy to commit forgery and theft from an elder. Due to the amount of money stolen, sentencing enhancements for property loss over $200,000 and aggravated white collar crime over $100,000, were also potentially in place, according to a release from the Orange County District Attorney’s office. The former couple face a maximum of six years in prison.
The two defendants conspired to close a number of annuity funds belonging to Garcia’s mother, then 89 years old, without her consent between January 1, 2009 and September 27, 2010. The couple allegedly closed the accounts and moved them into a joint account Garcia held with his mother. Garcia then allegedly moved the funds into a joint account with his then-wife, and used them for personal expenses.
Garcia’s mother discovered the theft when she was unable to pay her bills at the assisted living facility she was living in. She reported the theft in March of 2011. The couple was arrested in August 2012, following a sheriff’s department investigation.
