Schools, organizations to receive restitution after Central Coast nonprofit director convicted of embezzlement
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Several local schools and non-profit organizations will receive restitution after a Central Coast nonprofit director was convicted of embezzlement and theft, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.
The DA's Office said the restitution funds are coming from the People v. Lolita Garcia criminal case for embezzlement, tax evasion, submitting false invoices and theft by false pretenses, and it amounts to a total of $327,991.86.
These are the schools and organizations that will receive restitution:
- 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- $17,610.19
- California Franchise Tax Board- $96,417.52
The DA's Office said Garcia formed the nonprofit Central Coast Kids & Families in 2008 to provide in-home services to the families of children with special needs and in-school aids to children with special needs at the Salinas City Elementary School District, Greenfield USD, North Monterey County USD, Carmel USD, Pacific Grove USD and the Monterey County Office of Education. The in-home services were paid for by the San Andreas Regional Center, and the in-school services were paid for by the districts and offices.
Investigators found that Garcia over-billed the school districts and SARC for hours that employees did not work on a routine basis. Over the course of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years, investigators said she intentionally over-billed by a total of $192,823.
In total, the DA's Office said Garcia embezzled $675,646 from the organization from 2013 to 2015. The office said she used the money to buy several luxury vehicles, a diamond Rolex watch, Louis Vuitton handbags, clothing, entertainment, travel and pay for cosmetic surgery, home improvements and dining. The DA's Office said she did not report the amounts on her tax returns.
After learning about the investigation, the DA's Office said Garcia formed a for-profit, single-member LLC and claimed she did business from that without dissolving the nonprofit or accounting for the money that was required to be spent on the charitable purpose.
Garcia was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzlement, tax evasion, submitting false invoices and theft by false pretenses. She was taken into custody at the end of the sentencing hearing.
Former Central Coast nonprofit director sentenced to prison for embezzlement
When Garcia was arrested, the court seized her valuable personal property to be held by a court-appointed Receiver and liquidated them after she was sentenced. Now the Receivership has ended and the money from the liquidation will be used for the restitution. Garcia is still responsible for the remaining $458,135 in restitution, excluding interest.
“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," said District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni. "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.”
