BARSTOW (Source: Katie Lucia Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.) – • A former Barstow real-estate agent was sentenced to six months in jail Monday for renting foreclosed houses to unsuspecting tenants in 2010.
Evelyn Thompson, 51, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of forgery. She was originally charged with five counts of forgery, conspiracy to commit a crime and trespassing.
“We have a hope and an expectation that Mrs. Thompson never does the activity in question again,” Deputy District Attorney Joel Buckingham said. “We also hope the community is aware that there are consequences for crimes like this, forgery and trespassing.”
The other defendant in the case, Edward Tofoya, 54, pleaded guilty to unauthorized entry of property last month as well. He was sentenced to pay court fees.
T h o m p s o n wa s arrested in March 2010 after police learned she was renting five Barstow homes that had been foreclosed. Tenants of the homes told police Thompson would pose as the property manager and offer the homes for rent with no credit check under the alias D e b o ra h A n d e rs o n . Tofoya was Thompson’s handyman, who police said they found changing locks on one of the homes.
At t h e t i m e Thompson worked at Exit Strategy Realty in Barstow, but was fired after her boss learned of her actions.
T h o m p s o n wa s charged for renting four homes illegally, charging between $500 and $1,300 rent, previous reports showed. Most of the tenants had only recently moved in. There were other homes she was trying to rent but was found out before any leases were signed.
Thompson’s attorney, Troy Padgett, could not be reached for comment Monday.
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Source: Katie Lucia Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.
