People v. Reynaud CA2/6

FACTS

In 2013, the People filed a five-count felony complaint against Reynaud. They alleged she had committed the offense of diversion of construction funds (§ 484b) (count 1); grand theft of personal property (§ 487, subd. (a)) (count 2); obtaining services/money by false pretenses (§ 532, subd. (a)) (count 3); failure to file an income tax return (Rev. & Tax Code, § 19706) (count 4); and contracting without a license (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 7028, subd. (a)) (count 5). Reynaud entered into a plea agreement. She pled guilty to counts 1, 3, and 5. She also made the following admissions: she 1) unlawfully diverted construction funds from the Dinnings “in an amount exceeding $200,000”; 2) “fraudulently” obtained money from the Dinnings; and 3) “acted in the capacity of a general contractor when [she] was not licensed by the Contractor’s State Licensing Board and [she] knew [she] was not licensed.” The trial court held a victim restitution hearing and made the following factual findings: The Dinnings lost their Montecito home to the Tea Fire on November 13, 2008. Reynaud sent them an unsolicited fax claiming she could build a replacement “green home” that would

2 never burn and could…