District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that on July 9, 2012, Oxnard resident Ulices Coria (DOB 09/03/1978) pled guilty to two felony counts of grand theft in violation of Penal Code section 487(a). Coria also admitted as true a special allegation that the value of the property taken exceeded $50,000 and the aggravated white collar crime enhancement.

Coria and co-defendant Jesus Garcilazo (DOB 01/06/1984) (AKA Jesus Garcilazo Mendoza, AKA Jesus Mendoza Garcilazo, AKA Jesus Mendoza) were partners who formerly operated a business named U&J Investments in Oxnard, California. Coria and Garcilazo promised their victims double digit returns on their investment monies which were purportedly going into various types of real estate investments in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. In reality, none of the victims’ monies were placed in bona fide real estate investments and the victims’ total losses exceeded $100,000.

Garcilazo has an active warrant for his arrest and his current whereabouts are unknown. Anyone with information regarding Garcilazo’s current location is asked to call the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Unit at (805) 662-1750. Under the terms of Coria’s plea agreement, he faces six months in jail, must pay full restitution to his victims and will be placed on formal felony probation for a term of five years. Had his case proceeded to trial, Coria faced a maximum prison sentence of eight years. Coria is scheduled to be sentenced on October 11, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 26, before the Honorable Bruce Young.