Bay Area Woman Gets 30 Days "Time Served," 3 Months House Arrest For Using Forged POA, Stolen IDs In Attempt To Steal Long-Time Friend's Home

In Alameda County, California, Laney Tower reports:

• A former College of Alameda counselor was sentenced March 29 to five years probation and 120 days jail time(1) for multiple felony charges including forgery and identity theft. Shirley Robinson, 69, who has been in custody at Santa Rita Jail since a jury convicted her of 10 felonies on March 1, was sentenced at Alameda County Superior Court on March 29 and ordered to pay restitution and stay away from the victims.

• The convictions stem from a real estate fraud and identity theft scheme perpetrated at the height of the real estate boom in 2005, according to prosecutors. Robinson and the victim, former COA counselor Alze Roberts, were friends for 50 years. Robinson created a forged power of attorney authorization to act on behalf of someone else - in an attempt to sell the property without Roberts' knowledge, prosecutors said. To make that transaction appear legitimate, Robinson also stole the identity of three other individuals.

For the story, see Ex-COA counselor convicted of forgery (Sentenced to five years probation, house arrest, fined).

(1) Robinson's four months in jail includes 30 days time served with the remaining to be under electronic home confinement (house arrest).