Marina man sentenced to 9 years for scamming elderly out of more than $761,000

MARINA, Calif. (KION-TV)- A 64-year-old man was sentenced to 9 years in prison after pleading guilty to scamming elderly people on top of other fraudulent crimes Thursday, said Monterey County District Attorney Jeannie.

John Lloyd Osborne IV, of Marina, was found guilty on four counts of theft from an elder, one count of theft from a dependent adult, one count of forgery, one count of identity theft, one count of using fraud in the offer or sale of a security and one count of conspiracy to destroy evidence, according to Pacioni.

The crimes began in 2006 when Osborne solicited $250,000 from an elderly victim. He convinced the victim to invest in a fake corporation that he said had an exclusive marketing agreement with a real business, said Pacioni.

Then in 2010 and 2011, Osborne took advantage of two more victims for $100,000 and $5,000, respectively.

In 2015, Osborne obtained power of attorney over a dependant neighbor unable to care for himself. He then refinanced the man's home and paid himself $200,000, claiming the money was for an ownership interest in a corporation that made lifelike dolls of people's dead loved ones, according to Pacioni.

The company did exist, but it was not registered, had not made anything, and he was not authorized to sell his interest in the corporation, said Pacioni. The victim lost his home to foreclosure.

"In 2018, Osborne sold his already encumbered ownership in the corporation to another victim for more than $200,000 without notifying the other owners or obtaining their permission," said Pacioni. "At the time, the corporation’s certificate had been canceled. The corporation never produced a product."

Osborne also took "investments" from one of his victims by claiming he was making improvements to real property he claimed to own. He did not own the property, and the victim and his wife sued Osborne in civil court.

After being sued, Osborne returned to the same victim and convinced him to buy a $6,400 ring from a pawn shop. Later, Osborne pawned the ring himself and never used the $6,400 to get the ring back.

Osborne's sentence will be served in jail instead of prison due to realignment, said Pacioni.