Woman accused of falsifying documents for divorce court
Ex-Foster City council candidate charged with 34 felony counts
SAN MATEO — A former Foster City council candidate who prefers to be called Princess Leia Lucas is facing criminal charges of real estate fraud and perjury stemming from an accusation that she forged and presented false documents during a divorce trial in family court.
Linda Haskin- Gologorsky, 62, has been charged with 34 felony counts, including multiple counts of submission of a false document to the court, submission of a manufactured document to the court and creation of false evidence, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. If convicted as charged, Haskin-Gologorsky could be sentenced to a range of nine to 10 years in prison.
Judge Gerald Buchwald set Haskin-Gologorsky’s bail at $2 million.
Wagstaffe described the bail amount as “really high for this type of offense, for a woman without a record.”
HaskinGologorsky’s attorney, Ronald Rayes, could not immediately be reached for comment.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April 10.
In October, HaskinGologorsky and her estranged husband began a court trial in a divorce proceeding before San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Raymond Swope. Under oath, HaskinGologorsky testified to “the authenticity of eight clearly forged documents,” according to prosecutors.
One of the documents was a forged deed to the couple’s Foster City home that showed a purchase date by Haskin-Gologorsky prior to their marriage. Prosecutors said the fraudulent deed, if believed, would have entitled Haskin-Gologorsky to the home as her separate property.
The judge determined that the documents submitted to the court were forged and referred the case to the District Attor- ney’s Office for a perjury investigation, Wagstaffe said. Investigators discovered the home was purchased by the couple two years after their marriage. Prosecutors said a computer seized from HaskinGologorsky’s home showed that in the months leading up to the divorce trial she “manufactured the real estate documents, including the court seal on her home computer.”
“This was more egregious than a person hiding assets,” Wagstaffe said. “This was far more serious; she manufactured documents and then submitted them to the court.”
On March 23, Buchwald signed an arrest warrant in the amount of $1 million for Haskin-Gologorsky, who was taken into custody the same day.
Haskin- Gologorsky, who unsuccessfully ran for a Foster City council seat in 2009, told district attorney investigators she prefers to go by the name Princess Leia Lucas.
“This is what she has gone by when she has been out in the community,” Wagstaffe said. “She uses it in the community. She hasn’t legally changed her name.”