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thedrifter
10-12-06, 08:24 AM
Marine's wife sentenced for theft, fraud

By: North County Times -

NEWPORT BEACH ---- A Marine sergeant's wife was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in state prison for what prosecutors described as a "real estate investment Ponzi scheme" whose victims included Camp Pendleton Marines and their wives, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

Evelyn Oberhuber, 36, of San Clemente pleaded guilty to 50 counts of grand theft, fraudulent offering of securities, recording false deeds and forgery. In addition to her prison sentence, Oberhuber was ordered as part of her plea agreement to pay more than $2.2 million in restitution to the victims, the district attorney's office said in a news release.

The district attorney's office said Oberhuber forged signature cards to open two bank accounts in the name of a law firm where she worked as a paralegal and diverted tens of thousands of dollars to the accounts for her personal use.

Oberhuber also solicited money from friends and acquaintances, including Marines and their wives, by promising high returns on real estate investments. Some investors were paid, but most were not, the district attorney's office said.

In many cases, she forged deeds and presented these to her investors as proof of the purchase, the prosecutor said.

A few investors were paid off using funds coming in from new investors -- what is referred to as a Ponzi scheme -- but in most cases the investors were never repaid, Sevigny said.

At least some of the Marines were stationed in Iraq, officials said. Oberhuber, whose husband is a staff sergeant at Camp Pendleton, was among 35 volunteers who received awards in 2002 for helping Camp Pendleton families, according to earlier news reports. CNS-10-10-2006 19:15

Ellie