Two former San Mateo County employees arrested on charges of stealing from the estates of deceased residents

Editor's note:  Chicago FBI, what is holding you up?  We have loads of Cook County employees, judges,  lawyers, GALs and case management companies just ripe for indictment. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com


Two former San Mateo County employees arrested on charges of stealing from the estates of deceased residents


By Bonnie Eslinger Daily News Staff Writer San Jose Mercury News

Posted: SantaCruzSentinel.com





FBI agents arrested two former San Mateo County employees Friday on suspicion of stealing from the estates of deceased county residents they were responsible for administering, the federal law enforcement agency announced.



The Federal Bureau of Investigation believes Mandy Natchi Yagi, 54, of San Mateo, and Peter Wong, 43, of Daly City, stole money, jewelry and other valuables, according to the indictment filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and unsealed Friday after their arrest.



The two have been charged with conspiracy to commit theft from a federally funded program and theft concerning a federally funded program. Yagi and Wong appeared in federal court Friday morning and are scheduled to appear on June 27 for identification of counsel.



Public administrators are charged with investigating and administering the estates of county residents who die without a will or a person willing to act as the estate administrator.



San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Adrienne Tissier said she was "shocked" to hear about the thefts.



"To have something like this happen to families whose heirs are waiting on information from the county is very difficult," she said.



Since a federal investgation is still under way, Tissier said the county still doesn't know if the scope of thefts is limited to the two former employees.



"When you have a couple of people involved you like to hope that's where it wraps up, but since it's still an active investigation, we don't know," Tissier said.



Yagi resigned from county employment around Dec. 6, 2011; Wong also resigned on or about Nov. 15, 2011, according to the indictment. Both gave very short notice, according to a Friday news release from the San Mateo County Health System. The health system assumed responsibility for the Public Administrator program in July 2011.



The alleged thefts were discovered after Wong and Yagi left county employment, according to health department spokeswoman Robyn Thaw,



Wong had worked for the county for three years and Yagi for almost 12, she said.



"We discovered a box of items from many different estates in a place that only Wong and Yagi had access to," Thaw wrote in an email. "That they had items from many different estates in a box that was not under lock and key with the Public Administrator was evidence that they were misappropriating assets."



The health department referred the matter to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office in December 2011, Thaw said.



According to the indictment, the metal box contained valuables and identification documents belonging to 19 different estates that had been or were under county administration. The box was found at the residence of a decedent in an estate administrated by Wong.



Yagi allegedly withdrew $5,000 in November 2010 from the account of one estate through a check made out to a person identified as "R.M.R." who cashed the check, giving half to Wong. "R.M.R" and Wong deposited $2,500 each into their personal checking accounts, according to the indictment. Federal officials would not identify "R.M.R.", citing an active investigation.



In July 2011, Wong deposited $5,613 into his personal bank account, money he received from a jeweler from the sale of 14 items of jewelry and gold from one of the estates he handled, according to the indictment.



Health System Chief Jean Fraser said in a written statement Friday she was pleased that the two former employees had been arrested, so the county could begin contacting the heirs and beneficiaries of all the estates handled by Yagi and Wong and correct any thefts or mistakes.



New procedures and controls had been added to the Public Administrator program after the health system took over, she said. It was those controls that alerted staff to the possible thefts by Wong and Yagi.



The program was previously operated under the direction of former District Attorney Jim Fox, who retired at the end of 2010, according to Steve Wagstaffe, who now holds the post. Wagstaffe said after he was elected to be district attorney he advocated transferring responsibility of the program over to the health department, since it was already in charge of the county's public guardian /conservatorship program.



Wagstaffe said the district attorney's office itself didn't have anything to do with the Public Administrator program, but he plans to investigate how the alleged crimes occurred.



"I want to know where was the fall down on that," Wagstaffe said.



Email Bonnie Eslinger at beslinger@dailynewsgroup.com.






http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/nationalbreaking/ci_20919010/two-san-mateo-county-employees-arrested-charges-stealing