SANTA ANA (CNS) – A 70-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 64 days in jail, or time already served, for his part in a home theft scheme in Orange County resulting in about $2 million in losses.
Raymond Jirak pleaded guilty July 27, 2023, to conspiracy, possession of a forged driver’s license, and forgery. On Friday, all of those felony counts were reduced to misdemeanors.
Co-defendant Andrew Stephan Hutchings, 67, pleaded guilty July 6 to two counts of conspiracy, one count of grand theft, four counts of procuring or offering false or forged documents to be filed, and a count of identity theft, all felonies. Hutchings also admitted sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime exceeding $500,000.
Hutchings, who is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 21, faces two years in prison, according to court records.
The maximum sentence for Hutchings is 12 years and eight months, but he is expected to be sentenced to two years with two months of credits behind bars, according to court records.
Hutchings, who previously had a real estate license, asked Jirak to “impersonate various individuals in front of a notary public in exchange for $500,” prosecutors said in court papers.
“Additional evidence bore out much of Mr. Jirak’s statements that he was induced to participate in this conspiracy by defendant Hutchings and that defendant Hutchings was the criminal mastermind who benefited financially — to the tune of over $500,000 — from the fraud,” prosecutors said in court papers.
Hutchings impersonated a homeowner in October 2020 to sell at home at 1634 W. Orangewood Ave. in Anaheim. The victim’s signature was forged on a purchase agreement to sell the residence, prosecutors said.
Hutchings used the profits to acquire gold eagle coins, prosecutors said.
The same conspiracy was attempted for a home at 20072 E. Frank Lane in Orange, according to the complaint.
Four homes were stolen in the scheme, according to prosecutors. The home at 2843 W. Orange Ave. in Anaheim was estimated to be worth $415,000; a home at 1634 W. Orangewood Ave. in Anaheim was valued at $600,000; a home at 20072 E. Frank Lane in Orange was valued at $325,000; and a home at 11742 Della Ave. at Garden Grove was valued at $700,000, according to the criminal complaint
Recent Comments