Women face prison time in alleged statewide scam

A 67-year-old Costa Mesa woman faces 49 felonies along with her alleged 45-year-old accomplice on charges that the two capitalized on the ailing economy to con people out of their money.

Marianne Curtis was charged with 24 counts of grand theft and 25 counts of violations to California’s foreclosure consultant statutes after prosecutors said she and Mary Alice Yraceburu of Riverdale operated a sham company called Foreclosure Freedom.

Authorities said the two sent hundreds of fliers to Californians, promising to help stop home foreclosures. When homeowners called the number on the flier, they were allegedly told their mortgages could be renegotiated but had to pay thousands in up-front fees and were told not to contact their lenders. The victims would pay, but prosecutors said neither woman did a successful loan modification and that the people ended up going bankrupt or lost their homes.

The two are suspected of tricking more than 160 people out of their money. Their two sets of charges were enhanced for the crimes valuing more than $65,000 and $100,000, respectively.

Each woman faces 21 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

— Joseph Serna