VENTURA, California – District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Megan Elizabeth Zucaro (DOB 7/11/70), of Thousand Oaks, was sentenced to 365 days in jail by Judge Anthony Sabo.
Zucaro had previously pled guilty to one felony count of diversion of construction funds. The investigation and prosecution of Zucaro was conducted by the District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Unit.
Zucaro, a local real estate agent licensed by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE), targeted a 91-year-old victim in Piru. Zucaro first convinced the victim to give her a 50 percent interest in his property so she could obtain a loan to develop the property on his behalf. Zucaro paid nothing in return for her interest in the property, currently valued at approximately $2 million. After being added onto the property’s title, Zucaro then stripped the property of its equity by using it as collateral for a hard-money loan. After prepaid interest and loan fees were deducted, Zucaro received net proceeds of $165,000.
Within 30 days of receiving the $165,000, Zucaro spent the funds on personal expenses completely unrelated to developing the victim’s property.
Zucaro was sentenced to 365 days in jail and placed on 60 months of felony probation. She was also ordered to pay $300,200 in restitution to the victim and must surrender her real estate license to the DRE.