By Audrey Sawyer and Tommy Nguyen
VENTURA, CA – Early this week in Ventura County Superior Court, Judge Patricia Murphy granted a request to dismiss felony charges of insurance fraud dating back to 1995, nearly 30 years ago.
The accused was charged—in the last century—with felony perjury and several counts of insurance fraud, all to which she had pleaded guilty.
Defense counsel initially pointed out the discrepancy within the restitution records of the accused.
Attorney Catina Irvin explained the accused has contributed a substantial amount toward restitution and has otherwise completed all conditions as indicated in the probation report, with diligent payments over the course of four years. The accused has now paid off all but $40,000 for restitution.
However, Judge Murphy confirmed the stated amount and, according to the court’s record, the accused still has an outstanding balance of $107,000 that needs to be paid.
Before discussing more about the restitution amount, Deputy District Attorney Jillian Ewan commented the motion of expungement should not be granted even if the remaining restitution is only $40,000.
Judge Murphy expressed hesitation, recalling the last time the same request was made and was denied due to the accused being charged with a subsequent insurance fraud after she was placed on probation.
However, the judge took into account the fact that those charges were far back in 1995, and there has been “an absence of law enforcement contact” since then.
Considering that denying the expungement motion would not increase the likelihood of the restitution being paid, the court granted the request to dismiss all charges and guilty pleas, and convert the restitution to civil judgment, with the amount actually owing to be determined later.
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