Hollister
– A judge Wednesday sentenced a Hollister woman convicted in a
home refinance scam to 180 days of home confinement with electronic
monitoring, citing her pregnancy.
Hollister – A judge Wednesday sentenced a Hollister woman convicted in a home refinance scam to 180 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring, citing her pregnancy.
Judge Steven Sanders’ sentence for Diana Marie Lozano, 36, included five years of probation.
The sentence came despite Lozano’s ineligibility for probation because of two felony forgery convictions in Washington during the 1990s, according to her probation report. Interim Probation Chief Mary Covell said a judge can overrule that ineligibility and place someone on probation.
In 2006, Lozano bilked a Hollister family out of $9,600 and forced them into foreclosure on their home, according to the district attorney’s office.
Deputy district attorney Stephen Wagner said it is rare for a judge to grant probation to a defendant with “such a rich book of criminal business.”
“She will no doubt thank her lucky stars from here to eternity,” Wagner said. “Prison was a very real possibility in this case because of the outrageous violation of trust and the fact that she had suffered prior felony convictions.”
Wagner said Lozano’s probation bars her from working in financial-related institutions.
Sanders’ decision allows Lozano to stay at home with two daughters and her unborn child. Probation officers had recommended no prison time for the same reason, according to a San Benito County Probation Department report.
According to the report, Lozano’s daughter had been receiving chemotherapy treatment for lymphoma over a period of six months.
Outside the courtroom after the hearing, Lozano said she felt sorry.
“Sometimes you find yourself in situations that make you do things,” Lozano said. “It doesn’t make you a bad person.”
Lozano pleaded guilty in May to felony obtaining money by false pretenses. She had faced up to one year in state prison, according to the California Penal Code.
“I am thankful that at least I get to be with my kids,” Lozano said.
Lorie Tilley, who volunteers with the Hillside Christian Fellowship and works with women in the criminal justice system, was at the hearing to support Lozano.
“She definitely has big remorse,” Tilley said. “It’s not a show.”
The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office arrested Lozano in January on suspicion of four felony charges relating to the scam. District Attorney Candice Hooper said the victims approached her office in late 2006 after their home went into foreclosure.
Lozano offered to refinance the Spanish-speaking family’s home in August 2006, presenting them with a Shamrock Funding business car bearing her name, Hooper has said. Lozano worked at the company for several months.
Lozano began pocketing the family’s monthly payments, Hooper said. On July 25, a judge will decide how much Lozano will owe the family.
