SANTA CRUZ — In a sweeping real estate scam affecting more than 130 people, a former Capitola property and vacation rental manager agreed to a plea deal and was sentenced for four felony embezzlement charges Thursday.
Dolores “Dede” Harrington, 49, had co-owned the Capitola Avenue business Beach House Rentals LLC since 2004, brokering high-end vacation, home, condo, cottage and townhome rentals. During a period spanning early 2020 through August 2022, however, Harrington began failing to pay property owners their rental income, withholding rental deposits, canceling vacation rental contracts with little or no notice and other similar activities, numerous complainants told the Sentinel. Even before her October 2022 criminal arrest by Capitola police, civil breach-of-contract actions had begun piling up against Harrington.
Of 16 original felony charges filed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office in the case, 12 were dismissed as part of the plea deal. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Stephen Siegel sentenced Harrington on Thursday to two years of probation and a $400,000 restitution fine. Harrington will be required to spend one year incarcerated or, if it can be arranged, serve her time in an alternative housing custody, according to her attorney, Jay Rorty.
The restitution will be split among the identified victims in the case, though individual parties are likely to see just a 40% return on their losses, said Capitola property owner Leanne Lopes, who attended Thursday’s hearing. The deal also addresses some of the lost transient occupancy taxes due to the city of Capitola, making it so that affected property owners will not be charged directly, said Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Ed Browne.
“The victims aren’t going to get all the money that they’ve paid but they’re going to get something,” Browne said outside of court. “But there will be judgments for the restitution for the full amounts. We’ll have hearings if we have to. Based on everything, I feel like we’re lucky to get something out of this.”
Browne said his office was limited in seeking recompense from Harrington by her known available assets.
Lopes, whose rental properties were formerly managed by Beach House Rentals, chatted with a couple who had traveled some two hours from their home 30 miles south of Modesto. The couple and their extended family traditionally vacationed in Capitola each year until arriving in town to use three of Lopes’ units — and were told by Harrington that they were no longer available.
Lopes and Julie and Sebastian Rangel said they were happy to receive some restitution on dollars they had lost.
“It’s very hard,” Julie Rangel said. “At least we’re getting something back. Other people (in different case) get nothing back.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com