Eastburn
People v. Eastburn
Opinion
lead Opinion
Perren, J.
*1503 Opinion
Travis Eastburn fraudulently obtained over $20,000 by passing eight checks with the forged signatures of his 83-year-old employer, Arnold Sutherland. The checks were drawn on an account held by Sutherland in the name of his “dba,” 1 Sutherland & Associates (S & A). A jury subsequently convicted Eastburn of forgery from an elder adult (Pen. Code, 2 § 368, subd. (d)), grand theft by embezzlement (§ 487, subd. (a)), and two counts of commercial burglary (§ 459). In this appeal, Eastburn challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction under subdivision (d) of section 368. He contends the evidence effectively compelled the jury to find that the actual victim of his crime “was a business entity, and not an elder adult.” We conclude that the law, be it civil or criminal, recognizes no distinction between an individual and a name under which he or she does business. We also conclude that the evidence presented in this case is sufficient to support the jury’s finding that Eastburn either knew or should have known that the money he was stealing belonged to an elder adult as opposed to a business. Accordingly, we affirm.