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Josh Yaguda off probation

May 23, 2013

joshuaA principal in a fraudulent $300 million investment scheme he ran out of the Estate Financial Inc. office in Paso Robles, which financially ruined thousands of people, has been taken of probation.

After spending three years and four months of an eight year sentence, Joshua Yaguda, 43, was released under San Luis Obispo County Probation supervision on Feb. 28, 2012. Because he committeed no further violations while on probation, he was released from probation after one year by statute.

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jac Crawford sentenced Estate Financial, Inc. principal Yaguda to eight years and his mother Karen Guth to 12 years on Dec. 7, 2009. The court credited Yaguda with time served in San Luis Obispo County Jail following his Oct. 16, 2008 arrest.

Yaguda and Guth plead guilty to fraudulently selling securities without the proper licenses, lying to investors, and stealing or destroying property worth $3.2 million.

Even so, EFI’s portfolio contained more than $317 million in monies owed to investors when the company filed bankruptcy in 2008. Of that, only $21,000 was held free and clear.

Guth and Yaguda illegally used investor monies contracted to fund construction projects to fund other businesses they owned, to pay investors for non-related projects, and to cover operating expenses.

The pair’s fraudulent practices were the subject of a lengthy series of articles by CalCoastNews, which eventually resulted in formation of a multi-agency task force and an effective investigation and prosecution of EFI.

Guth is slated to be released in 2014. Even so, a local property owner said he was contacted a year ago and asked if he would provide a rental for Guth who could have been released at that time if she had secured housing.

 


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He’ll be back in the saddle as a respected North County businessman and Tea Party patriot immediately. Government has no business regulating free enterprise. And if you think all of that $300,000,000 just “disappeared” you’re just another chump.


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Amazing! If this is the norm does it mean that if Gearhart defrauded $100million and Yaguda defrauded $300million that we can expect our judicial system to incarcerate Gearhart for just over a year?

How about the poor guy who may have robbed a store with a gun and gets 20 years. There is something wrong.


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It IS the norm. Using a gun is very stupid, short-sighted and not very profitable. And you go to jail. Gearhart is not stupid or short-sighted and will not go to jail.


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Maybe now he will run for office?


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I “invested” $400,000.00 in the mortgage fund… to date I have received back… less than four percent… the district attorney’s office has been less than helpful… and the bankruptcy attorney just a bit more… with seemingly no more $$$ coming my way… the sentences were a joke… and the time served even more so…!


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Ha, ha!


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If I had lost 400K of hard earned money to this guy and his mother I would want both of them out of jail and living in the area again.


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It would be interesting to find out if Josh Yaguda is in any way prohibited from working in the investment field ever again; surely if he tries to find work in that field his conviction should keep him away from ever having control over anyone else’s money again. At least one would think that …


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How naïve can you be bob. Someone dangles a carrot and 1000 greedy people will reach for it.


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As the story goes, if you want to rip the public, do it in their face and make it last. Hanging horse theives was more about stoping this breed and now we promote them?


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A bitter pill to swallow the short amount of time but hey from the bottom here all the way to Washington, I see people getting away with all kinds of stuff anymore. Guess crime does pay after all??


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Only if you are a politician or are well connected to a politician. This does not work for us serfs or average Americans.


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‘Secure housing’ for Guth seems to be a good idea.


She knowingly milked/ruined many old folk of their life savings in the area & I’ guess some would like to rough her up a bit if they got the chance.


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If anyone gets roughed up it’s going to be you, courtesy of Josh. And he has the money stashed to pay for it.


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What happened to the olive ranch? Were they successful in shielding it from the creditors?


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From CCN


http://calcoastnews.com/2012/11/paso-robles-pasolivo-olive-ranch-sold/


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Thanks, I vaguely remembered reading that, but thought the sale had fallen through.


Is the Newport family an arm’s length transaction, or is Josh Yaguda liviing on the ranch right now?


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A little poking around on the internet indicates that the Newport Beach family’s name is “Willow Creek Newco LLC, a Delaware corporation.”


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Josh ain’t going nowhere, and you’d better watch it given his proclivity to physical threats against critics.


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