Boy oh boy. We've heard everything now. And I mean everything. If you're not in California, you may not have heard about the Newport Beach, CA paralegal who allegedly stole a $19,000 check written to her law firm and turned it into a $285,000 check for herself and her pal, an elementary school teacher.
After the check was deposited into a joint account for the paralegal and the elementary school teacher, authorities say, the two friends flew to New York City with friends in a chartered jet and went on a spending spree, according to the Los Angeles Times and the Murrieta Patch.
However, it wasn't all about diamonds and expensive toys: In addition to shopping at Montblanc and Tiffany & Co., the two also allegedly used two fraudulently obtained cashier's checks to make a $233,000 deposit toward purchasing a $3.7-million, 11,000-square-foot home in Murrieta, Calif.
It isn't clear how they might have expected to qualify for a mortgage or make payments, but Detective Greg Faessel of the Cypress, Calif., police, whose department investigated the case, said the women simply wanted a luxurious home in which to spend the holidays and hoped to rent it prior to closing. I suppose they figured they could work a little overtime to make the house payments and pay the utilities.
The spree ended when the bank on which the $19,500 check was drawn rejected it for payment, authorities said. The two women had to return to California on an ordinary coach flight and are now being held in case in lieu of $285,000 bail each.
If they make bail, they must prove the source of the funds.
Neither television news nor in the articles could we find any comment from the women or their attorneys. The defendants are charged with forgery, grand theft and grand theft by embezzlement.
Maybe it would have been better to just wait for a year-end bonus and go to the Holiday Inn. Much less hassle.