Detective agency owner remains in jail with an increase in bail and more criminal allegations

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Detective agency owner Craig Case remains in jail with rising issues about his finances, and allegations of multiple felony acts being investigated by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

Case appeared in Santa Barbara Superior Court this morning while in custody, via remote video, wearing jail clothing.

A deputy public defender Brian Mathis consulted with Case to speak on his behalf.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota asked Judge Raimundo Montes de Oca to raise the bail for Case from $250,000 to $1,000,000. Cota said Case was a risk in many ways if he got out, even with a GPS monitor. Cota told the court he has evidence that Case has been hiding funds illegally obtained and some of the most recent acts have been while he was in custody.

Case has been charged with multiple felony charges linked to embezzlement and grand theft from the estate of an elderly Montecito woman. The power of attorney from the estate was in the hands of Nancy Coglizer who has also been named in charges linked to the misuse of the money.

Coglizer and Case both entered please of not guilty and will be back in court later this month.

The District Attorney's office says Coglizer did "not take a dime" and has been cooperating with the investigation to explain how Case was able to get to the money in the estate. It's been alleged that nearly $700,000 was taken through various checks many around $5000. and converted quickly into cash. There was also evidence by investigators of back-dated work contracts for payments when the work was never performed.

Mathis said Case is not a risk or a danger if he was out on bail and is also not going to flee.

Cota brought up several examples of money issues that he was concerned about including money that was urgently moved to a special financial account by Case as bank search warrants were issued.

Action to freeze the money has begun and Cota is concerned about how legitimate the money is.

Mathis said a sum or approximately $300,000 came from the sale of a home that Case's mother had owned.

Judge Montes de Oca said he did not have all the information he needed at the time, after hearing the back and forth money discussions, but felt a bail increase to $700,000. was necessary.

If Case posts bail he will have to show where the funds are coming from and abide by other strict court rules.