A misdemeanor criminal case against two Santa Maria Valley men charged with real estate fraud was dismissed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
During a hearing over the summer, the cases against Angelo Naemi and Steve P. Gonzales were dismissed with prejudice so they can’t be filed again.
Naemi paid $10,000 but did not admit any wrongdoing in the plea agreement.
“From the defense perspective, the $10,000 he paid to the county to have all charges dismissed was less than he would have paid to have had a trial and then acquitted, so it was cost effective for him to enter into the plea agreement,” said Michael Scott, his attorney.
Gonzales’ case was similarly resolved, with his attorney saying the man did nothing wrong.
The pair initially faced felonies, with Naemi charged with five counts of grand theft by false pretenses and one count of conspiracy to commit grand theft, while Gonzales was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit grand theft.
The original complaint in December 2016 alleged that Naemi, a real estate salesman, and Gonzales, a real estate broker, “conspired to falsify documents in association with numerous short sale transactions,” the District Attorney’s Office said. “Their actions allegedly resulted in a loss to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of over $500,000.”
The complaint also included special allegations for aggravated white collar crime and excessive losses.
During a March 2017 preliminary hearing, Santa Maria Judge Timothy Staffel reduced the charges to misdemeanors and dropped one charge against Naemi.
Staffel questioned whether any criminal acts had occurred and said he did not see any victims, urging attorneys on both sides to settle the case.
“A case which started out with multiple felony allegations and an exorbitant amount of bail nearing a half-million dollars, which received extensive publicity when originally filed, died a quiet death,” Scott said, noting Staffels’ preliminary hearing ruling and then the final dismissal in July.
“It saddens me that the case that had so much publicity in the beginning when they were simply accusations, but the media failed to take note, other than your reporter, that the case was ultimately dismissed,” he added.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.