Pauline Macareno Pleads Not Guilty to Murder Conspiracy and Murder of 96-Year-Old Montecito Widow Violet Alberts
Albert’s Case Is Highest-Profile Example Detailed in DA’s Recent Report on Real Estate Fraud
In the most dramatic courthouse showdown involving real estate fraud, accused murderer and confessed real estate scam artist Pauline Macareno pleaded not guilty to murder and murder conspiracy charges this August stemming from the murder by pillow of 96-year-old Montecito widow Violet Alberts in her Park Lane home in May 2022. Macareno, a real estate flipper from Los Angeles County, is accused of masterminding a murder conspiracy scheme against Alberts 23 days after law enforcement investigators had executed a search warrant on Macareno.
Alberts had outlived the money set aside by her pre-deceased husband to cover her expenses. Her groundskeeper put Alberts in touch with Macareno, who loaned Alberts just enough money to stay temporarily afloat through something akin to a reverse mortgage. In exchange Macareno got Alberts to sign papers putting Macareno’s name on the deed. When Macareno sought to record this paperwork, employees with the Clerk-Recorder expressed skepticism. Not long after, the search warrant ensued.
On May 27, 2022, Alberts’s body was found. Foul play was evident, but the investigation was anything but easy. Although Macareno would eventually plead guilty to 11 counts of real estate fraud and was sentenced to six years, it would take many months before she and several confederates were charged with murder. Macareno and the other defendants are still awaiting the preliminary hearing. No date is scheduled. A readiness and settlement conference is scheduled for this October.
The Alberts’s case is highest-profile real estate fraud example detailed in a report received without comment or note by the county supervisors last week. In that report, the District Attorney’s Office recounted how the number of real estate fraud cases referred to their deputies for investigation and prosecution has nearly doubled in the past three years. In that same time, the number of convictions has dropped by half.
Though the absolute numbers remain relatively small, the uptick in complaints remains notable. In 2019, the DA’s office received 12 referrals; last year it was 23. In that same period, the number of real estate fraud complaints filed for criminal prosecution increased from zero to four and the number of convictions dropped from five to two.
Thanks to a change in state law back in 2007, 2 percent of every recorded real estate transaction was set aside for real estate fraud prevention efforts and local prosecutors’ offices were given a sizable chunk. Over time, that fee increased to 3 percent and is now 10 percent for every recorded transaction. But as the real estate market has slowed down as interest rates have increased, there have been fewer transactions and the revenues generated has declined. Locally, the amount of funding set aside to support efforts to combat real estate fraud dropped from $410,000 to $197,000. This funding has underwritten the cost of three positions within the DA’s Office.
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