Woman Gets 4 Years For Forging Checks That Left Unwitting Elderly Landlord Facing Foreclosure

In Vista, California, KGTV-TV Channel 10 reports:

• A woman who wrote checks to herself from her landlord's account, temporarily forcing the victim's two homes into foreclosure, was sentenced Monday to four years in state prison. Jacqueline Mastrodimos, 39, pleaded guilty last October to four counts of passing forged checks.

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• Authorities said Mastrodimos rented a room in 2005 in Johansen's Carlsbad home and soon became involved in the 60-something victim's finances. The mortgage on the Dehesa Court home went unpaid from January to August 2008, and Johansen didn't realize there was a problem until she saw a notice on her front gate that the property would be sold at auction in three weeks, prosecutors said. A Carmel Valley condominium was in foreclosure for the same reason. Johansen was able to keep the properties but had to pay substantial penalties.

• Investigators said Mastrodimos took the victim's bills to a post office and picked up her mail each day. During that time, she wrote checks to herself from the victim's account, took out credit cards in Johansen's name and used her automated-teller machine card at casinos.

Source: Woman Sentenced For Forging Checks (Jacqueline Mastrodimos To Spend 4 Years In Prison).

(1) Reportedly, Vista Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein ordered the defendant to pay $105,000 in restitution to Julie Johansen and $19,000 to American Express for opening up a credit card in the victim's name.