Craig Case sentenced to 26 years and eight months for elder fraud of Montecito woman
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Craig Case, a local security company owner and part-time television show host, has been sentenced to 26 years and eight months in connection with the elder fraud of a Montecito woman Tuesday.
The 77-year-old was found guilty in February of 63 of 64 charged counts -62 of those charged counts were felonies including 45 counts of money laundering- related to the embezzlement of almost $700,000 from Montecito resident Constance McCormick Fearing.
Case has been in law enforcement custody since his arrest during a court appearance in July of 2023.
The 12-person Santa Barbara jury in February also found true multiple aggravating factors including that the victim was particularly vulnerable, that there was a notable financial loss for the victim, and that Case had personally persuaded others to participate in the crimes.
An alert trustee of Fearing's holdings noticed a large number of suspicious check-based changes to her accounts in July of 2021 before she died in 2022.
Between 2018 and April 2021, Case conspired with Nancy Coglizer, who had power of attorney over Fearing, to embezzle approximately $690,000.
Coglizer wrote more than 100 checks to Case, allegedly for security services for Fearing who was never consulted about the payments.
These checks were often in small amounts -such as $5,000- that were small enough to avoid triggering reporting requirements from financial institutions that monitor account activity.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office shared that warrants for bank records and the timeline of the checks allowed their office to track how the money was deposited or converted in cash or cashier's checks.
"We had their text messages. We had their emails. We had the way he was laundering the money through his mom's account," explained Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota in February. "It is always helpful to have someone involved in the conspiracy to talk about their conversations and what went on. It helped the case for sure."
Coglizer pleaded guilty to embezzlement and to conspiracy in October of 2024 and testified on behalf of the prosecution during Case's trial.
In court Tuesday, Coglizer was remanded into custody at the conclusion of her hearing after being sentenced to ten years of probation and 364 days in county jail due to her cooperation with the prosecution, her early admission of guilt and remorse, and that she did not personally benefit from the scheme noted Judge Von Doroian.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Coglizer was ordered to pay $690,000 in restitution and a hearing to determine the amount of restitution Case will have to pay is currently scheduled on May 20 of this year.
"Financial abuse of elderly vulnerable victims will not be tolerated in our community," said District Attorney John Savrnoch Tuesday after the sentencing. "Thank you to District Attorney Investigator Kristen Shamordola, and Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota for ensuring that justice was served in this case."
Craig Case hosted a paid program on KEYT for over a decade.
