Skip to main content

Monterey County District Attorney’s Office Recovers $327,991 in Restitution for Local Schools and Non-Profit Organizations After Embezzlement and Theft Convictions of Lolita Garcia

Monterey, California - Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced on Friday, August 13 that $327,991.86 in restitution will be provided to the following organizations: Salinas City Elementary School District $2,427.42 North Monterey County Unified School District $8,352.57 Greenfield School District $244.87 Carmel Unified School District $5,414.11 Pacific Grove Unified School District $105,045.32 Monterey County Office of Education $15,758.24 San Andreas Regional Center $76,721.62 Monterey County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) $17,610.19 California Franchise Tax Board $96,417.52 Total $327,991.86 These restitution funds were recovered through the People v. Lolita Garcia criminal case for embezzlement, tax evasion, submitting false invoices, and theft by false pretenses. Garcia was sentenced on December 2, 2020, to 4 years state prison for these crimes. In 2008, Garcia formed a nonprofit called Central Coast Kids & Families to provide in-home respite services to families of children with special needs. These respite services were paid for by the San Andreas Regional Center (“SARC”), a nonprofit corporation funded by the State of California to serve people with developmental disabilities. Central Coast Kids & Families also provided in- school aides to children with special needs through the Salinas City Elementary School District, North Monterey County Unified School District (“USD”), Greenfield School District, Carmel USD, Pacific Grove USD, as well as the Monterey County Office of Education. These in-school services were paid for by such public school districts and offices. The People’s investigation revealed Garcia routinely overbilled these schools and SARC for hours that Central Coast Kids & Families’ employees did not actually work. The People examined hundreds of invoices and timesheets for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years and found Garcia intentionally overbilled the public school districts and SARC in a total amount of $192,823 during these years. From 2013 to 2015, Garcia embezzled a total of $675,646 from the nonprofit that she formed, and used such stolen and embezzled funds to purchase personal luxuries. Garcia also failed to report the amounts embezzled for personal expenditures on her tax returns. At the time Garcia was arrested for these crimes, the People obtained orders from the Court allowing the seizure of valuable personal property and accounts of Garcia’s, including the Central Coast Kids & Families business and accounts, personal bank and investment accounts, a Porsche Carrera, a Maserati Ghibli, a Land Rover Range Rover, a Toyota Tundra, a Jeep Wrangler, a diamond Rolex watch, and Louis Vuitton handbags, all of which Garcia had purchased with stolen and/or embezzled funds. These assets were held by a court-appointed Receiver while the criminal case was pending, and following Garcia’s sentencing, were liquidated. The Receivership has now been terminated and it has turned over a total of $327,991.86 for distribution to the victim organizations listed above. Garcia is still responsible for payment of her remaining restitution obligations which total $458,135, excluding interest. This case was investigated by District Attorney Investigator Jackie Meroney and District Attorney Forensic Auditor Sandra Kyzivat. District Attorney Pacioni stated “Lolita Garcia abused the trust that these public agencies had in her as the executive director of a charitable organization. So often in theft and embezzlement cases, there are no assets available to satisfy restitution obligations. Here, we were able to recover substantial assets at the outset of the case to satisfy a large portion of restitution due to these public agencies that are providing critical services to children and parents in our community.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monterey County DA Releases Preliminary Information Concerning an Officer Involved Shooting Incident that Occurred Outside of Soledad on December 16

  SALINAS, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni on December 19 released preliminary information concerning the officer involved shooting (OIS) which occurred at about 1:20 a.m. outside the city of Soledad on December 16, 2025. Just before 1:00 a.m., Monterey County Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Pina, who has been a peace officer for 10 years all with MCSO, and Deputy Blain Councilman, each in separate patrol cars, were dispatched to 32097 McCoy Road. A resident at the farm labor camp reported a suspicious individual with a handgun whose white Honda 4 door sedan was parked in space 18 at the complex. Before parking there, the suspect drove around and around, stopped in front of the reporting party’s (RP’s) truck, and got out. The RP could hear music. Deputy Pina drove the lead patrol car and arrived just after 1:20 a.m. His dashcam video, which does not record sound but which he installed on his own and at his own expense, depicts the following: He drove down ...
Post a Comment
Read more

King City CHP is searching for person of interest who fled the scene of a fatal crash in Greenfield

On Monday, September 16 at approximately 3:50 pm, a fatal traffic collision occurred on Metz Road south of Elm Avenue in Greenfield.  The driver who caused the collision fled on foot and is currently outstanding.  The California Highway Patrol King City Area is currently seeking the whereabouts of 31-year-old Agustin Santana-Moncada of King City who has been identified as a person of interest in the case.  The King City Area is requesting assistance from the public in locating Santana-Moncada.  Anyone with information is asked to contact the King City Area office at (831) 385-3216.
1 comment
Read more

King City City Council Announces Selection of José Arreola as New City Manager

  January 7, 2025-Following an extensive recruitment process, José Arreola has been selected by the King City City Council to be its next City Manager. Arreola will replace Steve Adams, who is retiring after serving in the position for the past 10 years. Arreola was selected from 31 applicants and 8 finalists for the position. The King City City Council will formally consider the proposed city manager contract at its meeting on Tuesday night, January 13. Arreola's first day on the job is scheduled to be February 23.    José Arreola has a distinguished career of serving the community with a particular commitment to youth. He has worked for the City of Salinas for 12 years as their Community Safety Program Manager, Community Safety Administrator and Assistant to the City Manager. Among other responsibilities, Arreola has led several programs to eliminate gang violence which aligns well with the City of King’s efforts and priorities. Prior to that, Arreola worked as an Educa...
Post a Comment
Read more