A Sacramento insurance agent has pled no contest in a case in which it was alleged she took money from clients to invest in real estate loans, but never did.
The authorities have said that Maria Elna Flora, 59, who pled to one count of first degree burglary and eleven counts of grand theft, had a gambling problem.
They said that from January 2005 to August 2007, she played the slot machines almost daily at the local Thunder Valley Casino.
She has been sentenced to serve 13 years 4 months in state prison and ordered to pay $434,278.69 in restitution to her victims.
During the two year period from 2005 to 2007, Flora allegedly fleeced 12 individuals living in Butte, El Dorado, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus and Yolo Counties. She promised them returns on the investments of 10 percent to 20 percent in a short time, and had them shift money from savings to make these investments. She took amounts ranging from $5,000 to $88,000.
Flora made a few interest payments to investors, and she promised to pay her victims at a later date. But she never did.
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