Trio sentenced in Tubbs fire fraud case
Four months after a judge rejected their plea deal, three family members in one of the biggest fraud cases tied to the post-wildfire rebuilding in Sonoma County were convicted Tuesday after accepting responsibility for defrauding victims of the 2017 Tubbs wildfire.
Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Troye Shaffer convicted and sentenced Salvador Chiaramonte, his wife Pamela and their daughter, Amy Perry, on multiple counts related to their broken promises to rebuild homes.
Salvador Chiaramonte received the heftiest sentence after he pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts of diverting funds and one felony count of elder abuse in the case. He was placed in handcuffs and was ordered to spend three of the next six years in prison. The rest of his sentence will be served under supervised release.
The Chiaramontes, who are based in Tulare, were also ordered to pay a total of $1.19 million in restitution to 16 families.
One of the half-dozen Chiaramonte victims in court Tuesday was Carol McHale, who along with her spouse, Erin Murphy, was bilked out of $143,000 by the company.
Forty-five minutes into the proceedings, McHale said she “needed to get back to work.” She stayed, however, “cause I want to see him in handcuffs.”
She also expressed anger that even after the company knew it was in “financial collapse,” Chiaramonte Construction “was still signing people up and stealing people's money.”
Perry pleaded guilty to one felony count of diverting funds and was sentenced to 180 days in a work-release program. Her sentence will include three consecutive weekends in custody beginning March 17.
Pamela Chiaramonte was sentenced to 60 days of work release after she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of diversion of funds.
“At a time of deep distress and financial insecurity for multiple families in Sonoma County,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez, “these defendants took advantage of these victims for their own financial gain. While we realize this sentence won't satisfy every person victimized, we hope the lengthy period of incarceration to be served by Sal Chiaramonte, and the order of the court for the defendants to pay complete restitution to all named victims, will provide them with some measure of solace and closure.”
His voice quavering at times with anger, former Chiaramonte client Dana Kelley said he and his wife, Susan, felt victimized yet again by the “light sentence.”
“Being so-called Christians,” he said, while addressing the Chiaramontes, “you should have stopped signing people up, and let them know that you could not possibly build their homes. Instead, you kept embezzling their funds.”
After noting that the Chiaramontes embezzled “more than $80,000 from us,” then went on vacation, Kelley asked them, “Sal and Pam, how was your family vacation to Mexico? How was spending our money on yourselves?
“You may be getting basically no punishment for what you did to so many, but you will get your punishment when you leave this earth.”
Kelley and other victims went out of their way to thank David Kim, the Sonoma County deputy district attorney who led the prosecution of the Chiaramontes.
Speaking in a soft mumble that was, at times, inaudible, Salvador Chiaramonte admitted his guilt, accepting “full responsibility for what happened.”
He apologized “for the hurt I've caused” the victims. “I'm truly sorry for that.”
His daughter spoke more clearly.
“I'm so very sorry,” Perry told the judge and the six victims who were present at the hearing.
Tuesday's conviction and sentencing by Shaffer was the most significant step toward closure in this case, which arose from the 36,807acre blaze that wiped out 5,643 structures and killed 22 people.
The family accepted a plea deal with prosecutors last summer and were prepared to be convicted Oct. 24, but Shaffer shot down the agreement. A defense attorney read a statement on behalf of the defendants and it was evident the Chiaramontes blamed others for their inability to restore homes, the judge said.
Things were much different Tuesday.
“He knows where he fell short and is taking responsibility for his mistake,” Salvador Chiaramonte's attorney, Ron Irwin, said following Tuesday's hearing.