People v. Miller

BACKGROUND

Sara J., an elderly woman, owned the Property in Redwood City and resided there with her husband, who has dementia, and Cynthia S., a tenant. In 2018, San Mateo County informed Sara that she owed property taxes and faced a foreclosure sale. Miller, a real estate salesperson, contacted Sara and offered to secure a reverse mortgage to help save the Property. Sara agreed; she believed a reverse mortgage would allow her to use her equity in the Property to pay the taxes. Miller and her employer, Hall, indicated they would pay Sara’s tax obligation, and Sara would reimburse them by sending them $150 every month. Cynthia coordinated with Miller on Sara’s behalf. Sara agreed to pay $25,000 from the proceeds of the transaction to Cynthia as compensation for her assistance. On July 23, 2018, Miller provided Sara with a document to sign. At the time, Sara believed the document was to secure a $500,000 reverse mortgage. Sara also thought that after she signed the document, Miller would pay the owed property taxes to prevent a foreclosure sale. Miller pressured Sara to

2 sign the document quickly, explaining she needed to pay the overdue property taxes before the county office…