Santa Barbara real estate broker convicted of embezzling more than $650,000 Wednesday
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch announced that on Wednesday, Adam Michael Pirozzi pled no contest to two counts of embezzlement by a real estate broker.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office added that Pirozzi also admitted that the amount he had embezzled was more than $500,000, an enhancement under Penal Code 186.11(a)(2).
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office issued an amended press release on Dec. 22, 2023, correcting Adam Pirozzi's plea to one of no contest. That correction has now been included.
Pirozzi owned Santa Barbara Property Management, a company that manages various small to medium-sized apartment complexes in the County explain Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Pirozzi began stealing client trust funds as early as December of 2019 and ultimately an investigation found the Pirozzi embezzled more than $650,000 from clients' accounts.
A tip from one of Pirozzi's clients sparked Santa Barbara Police Department and the District Attorney's Real Estate Fraud Unit led by District Attorney Investigator Kristin Shamordola to investigate Pirozzi's activities detail Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Based on the efforts of those investigators, multiple home and bank accounts that belong to Pirozzi were frozen and the victims are expected to receive full restitution of all money Pirozzi allegedly embezzled explain the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
District Attorney John T. Savrnoch said, “Thank you to the Real Estate Fraud Unit, led by Senior Deputy District Attorney Casey Nelson and DA Investigator Kristin Shamordola, for their diligent investigation and successful prosecution."
Pirozzi is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 15, 2024, in Santa Barbara County Superior Court where he will receive five years of probation and be ordered to relinquish assets for the payment of restitution detail Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
