Chino man pleads guilty to identity theft in real estate fraud scheme

VENTURA, Calif. – Jonathan Martinez, a 37-year-old Chino man, pleaded guilty to felony identity fraud after stealing over $84,000 from a Thousand Oaks family who lost their home in foreclosure, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Martinez pleaded guilty on May 8 after the law firm he worked for offered services in a wrongful potential foreclosure sale against the family in the 2021 sale, according to the VCDAO.

A VCSO investigation found that Martinez intercepted, forged signatures and deposited funds into his personal account from a check worth over $84,000 made payable to the family, according to the VCDAO.

Martinez then used the check on personal expenses while the victims requested several updates on their surplus funds from June 2021 until April 2022, of which Martinez didn't respond or made excuses for, according to the VCDAO.

The victims learned of the frauded check in April 2022 and filed a crime report before being interviewed by Chase Bank two months later to notify them of the money's whereabouts, according to the VCDAO.

Chase Bank then recovered $30,000 of the stolen funds with Martinez still owing over $50,000 in victim restitution, according to the VCDAO.

Martinez faces up to four years and four months in jail, and his scheduled sentencing is June 6.