A Santa Barbara real estate broker has been sentenced to serve 30 days in jail and five years of probation, and to pay more than $2 million in fines and restitution.

Adam Michael Pirozzi, 42, pleaded no contest in December to two counts of embezzlement as a real estate broker.

He also pleaded no contest to a criminal enhancement alleging he embezzled more than $500,000, according to a news release from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.

(A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but results in a conviction, and authorizes the court to treat the criminal defendant as if he were guilty for purposes of sentencing.)

Pirozzi originally was charged with money laundering and other felonies in July 2021 for allegedly embezzling from his clients at his property management company.

He was sentenced on April 18, and will have to pay $1,275,388 in victim restitution and a $1,065,000 fine.

Pirozzi owned AMP Core Inc., which manages various apartment complexes in Santa Barbara. The District Attorney’s Office said the company went by several fictitious business names, including Harbor View Real Estate and Santa Barbara Property Management.

The district attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit, led by District Attorney Investigator Kristen Shamordola, began investigating Pirozzi after a tip from one of his clients.

The investigation found that Pirozzi embezzled more than $650,000 of his clients’ funds, according to the District Attorney’s Office. 

The fraud unit froze many of Pirozzi’s homes and bank accounts when the case was filed against him.

The frozen assets will be used to pay full restitution plus interest to his victims and pay the fine ordered by the court, according to the District Attorney’s Office.