A 54-year-old former mortgage broker pleaded not guilty to
embezzlement and all other charges Thursday, and a Santa Cruz
County Superior judge ordered her to be released under supervision
until a Feb. 24 court date.
Stephen Baxter
A 54-year-old former mortgage broker pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and all other charges Thursday, and a Santa Cruz County Superior judge ordered her to be released under supervision until a Feb. 24 court date.
Louisa Katrina Dubinsky appeared in court in red jail clothes, having turned herself in at Santa Cruz County Jail on Tuesday after media attention of her “Most Wanted” status and $500,000 warrant for her arrest.
Prosecutor Bill Atkinson said Dubinsky faces at least 15 years in prison if convicted of 39 counts in a criminal complaint, which include embezzlement, financial elder abuse and writing bad checks.
Her release terms include frequent contact with court authorities, and she was ordered not to have a checking account nor any phone, e-mail or personal contact with the alleged victims. Defense attorney Tony Salatich appeared briefly on her behalf Thursday before Dubinsky was appointed a public defender, Maya Nordberg.
“The judge did the right thing,” Salatich said outside court, referring to Dubinsky’s release.
Dubinsky had been living in Hollister, and she said in court that she worked as an office manager at an electrical company and made $15 an hour. Several media photographers were in the gallery, and she let her hair fall to the side of her face and silently stared toward the opposite wall during her hearing.
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Prosecutors filed a 39-count complaint against Dubinsky in 2009 that alleged she knowingly wrote bad checks totaling more than $1 million. The complaint also alleges that she stole $500,000 from clients in 2007 and took property valued at more than $200,000.
Prosecutors argued for her not to be released, but Judge Paul Burdick decided to grant her release. Atkinson said outside court that Dubinsky’s self surrender to authorities was a factor in her release. He added that he was glad Dubinsky turned herself in.
“Now we can get this dealt with. There are victims who want closure, and I’m sure she wants closure,” Atkinson said.
Dubinsky, who went by Katrina and Louisa, ran mortgage brokerage offices on 41st Avenue in Capitola and in the Sash Mill in Santa Cruz for Vision Lending & Investment. Her broker’s license was revoked in 2008 and prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against her in November 2009.
A judge had ordered a warrant for her arrest, and a friend saw her in the news last week on a “Most Wanted” list and contacted her.
