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closeSan Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jac Crawford agreed Tuesday to the sale of a Templeton gas station owned partly by jailed Estate Financial president Karen Guth.
Crawford did so, noting that those involved guaranteed that more than $700,000 of the sale’s proceeds would be under the court’s control for possible restitution to the hard-money lending company’s alleged victims.
The ruling was a good decision for all the parties in the case, prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Steven von Dohlen told a group of Estate Financial investors after the hearing.
The gas station, which has been boarded up for months, would probably be able to reopen within a couple of weeks, he added.
Guth and her son, Estate Financial vice-president Joshua Yaguda, have been in County Jail for nine months since they were charged with 26 counts of real estate-related felonies. All of their personal assets have been frozen by the court for the possible restitution of Estate Financial’s investor losses caused by the principals’ alleged criminal actions.
Crawford also gave defense attorneys 10 more days to provide the court with an accounting of $120,000 that Guth gave her defense attorney Stephen Smith two weeks in advance of her arrest — or file to appeal his decision. The judge had ruled June 25 that the money should be returned to the court’s control unless Smith could show the money was not spent to the detriment of Estate Financial investors.
Smith had objected to the ruling, claiming that he needed more time, that certain transactions fell under attorney-client privileged communication, and that the order violated his client’s right to due process, according to von Dohlen.
The next Estate Financial hearing has been set for July 29; the preliminary hearing remains scheduled for Aug. 20.
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