June 16, 2022 • 40 mins
Once Detective Jordan Mirakian gets the IRS and FBI involved with the Lizzie Mulder case, a federal courtroom becomes ground zero for the con artist’s auspicious reckoning. In never before heard audio recordings of the gripping proceedings, victims come out of the woodwork to tell a federal judge just how irreparably damaged they are as a result of Lizzie’s many scams. But will the judge believe them? Or will he believe Lizzie Mulder, who has already proven herself to be one of the most convincing liars?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Lizzie is one of the best sociopathic crooks I've ever
dealt with. In fact, I would venture to say that
her husband, Jesse Moulder, and the kids were more of
a prop. Every time she would defraud people, they were
part of that package. Lizzie Mulder is accused of scamming
nearly a dozen people in and around Orange County, including
(00:25):
a cowboy named Joe Love. He was an ex boyfriend
prior to Jesse Moulder. I think Lizzie used that relationship
to con Joe Love. Oh so, Joe Love is a victim.
He's a victim, but according to Lizzie, she's actually the victim.
And I can Detective Jordan Miracian can prove Lizzie's lying,
(00:51):
and he has a ton of evidence showing she's a
bona fide con artist. But the Orange County d A
isn't convinced. He's got a case and that hective is
told to just let it go and let Lizzie get away.
You know, I was getting pressure to basically close the case.
They wanted you to get rid of it and not
do any just close it. The district attorney told me,
(01:11):
I don't think this is a winnable case. It doesn't
really have any jury appeal, but instead Detective Morakian strategically
leap frogs over city and county authorities and gets the
federal government involved, people like Scott Tenley with the Department
of Justice. Almost anything you do, you swipe an a
t M card, you send a wire, it's going to
(01:32):
go through the Federal Reserve, it's going to go through
Bank of America and all over the place, multiple states,
and these days it's almost impossible not to be committing
a federal crime when you're doing fraud. But when Lizzie
Mulder finds out she's the target of an FBI investigation,
she panics, and what she does next surprises everyone. You know,
it's a bold move, But I didn't bat an eye lection. Yeah.
(02:05):
I'm Jonathan Walton and this is Queen of the con
The O C Savior Episode eight. The good that I did.
What's great about being an assistant United States Attorney and
(02:26):
a federal prosecutor is we get to choose the cases
we do. And so it's it's law enforcement agents bringing
cases to us and saying, here's what we have. Do
you want to make a federal case out of this
in July. Scott Tenley is a federal prosecutor with the
Department of Justice. When we get involved in a case,
it shakes people up. It shakes up defendants because this
(02:48):
is a federal case now, and that that's something that's
a very powerful part of the job working for the
federal government. You scare the bad guys exactly, and you
wouldn't take a case if there wasn't a good case there. Well, certainly,
we're not going to take a case that we wouldn't
be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. And somewhere
along the way, Lizzie Maulder figures this out and starts
(03:09):
waving a white flag. An attorney called and said, I'm
going to represent Lizzie Moulder, and we walked through the
evidence and then pretty quickly Lizzie wanted to resolve the
case with a plea agreement. Yep, you heard right. In
March of more than a year after Detective Jordan Morakian
(03:31):
first starts investigating her, Lizzie Malder wants to plead guilty
for scamming nearly a dozen people out of more than
one and a half million dollars. Because her guilty plea
will spare the government the uncertainty and the expense of
a trial. Prosecutors agreed to reduce the charges they were
(03:51):
initially planning to bring against her. And so in that
instance where we haven't had to file an indictment with
all the charges, we effectively negotiate and pick what charges
will be filed. So we brought wire fraud charge, which
is any type of fraud committed against the victim where
you take their property through fraud using the interstate wires.
(04:12):
And then we also brought a tax related charge because
she failed to report, as you would expect report her
stolen money as income on her taxes. And so she
pled to both of the charges we filed. Even though
we could have filed twenty more counts, thirty more counts,
it was just the two that we picked. So those
are the two that were actually filed. The other ones
(04:33):
were just like waiting in the wings in case it
was going to go to trial. If she had not
agreed to plead guilty without an indictment and she said, no,
you got to charge me, we would have charged her
with multiple counts of wire fraud, multiple counts of filing
false tax returns. We would probably have considered charging her
with something called aggravated identity theft because she was impersonating
(04:54):
people that she knew were obviously real people, and so
by coming in and resolving the case early, she helped
kind of control her exposure. But things are far from over.
While there isn't going to be a trial per se,
there is going to be a sentencing hearing in a
federal courtroom where a judge will decide how much prison time,
(05:15):
if any at all, Lizzie Mulder gets, for the crimes
she committed. I'd like to hear from you, counsel, that
I'd like to hear from the victims, and then I've
got a couple of questions for you, miss Mulder. It's Monday, October.
Courtroom ten A of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in
(05:37):
downtown Santa Anna is packed at nine in the morning.
A visibly distraught Lizzie Mulder is there, hands folded and
looking down with her husband Jesse, as are several of
her victims, some of whom we've never heard from until today. Lawyers,
police officers, FBI agents, and members of the press are
(05:59):
all and in attendance. The recording of this proceeding has
never seen the light of day until now. The Honorable
David O. Carter is presiding. Why don't we hear from
the victims. It's possible Lizzie Mulder could get off today
with no prison time at all, just probation. And that's
(06:19):
actually Jay and Marla Avery's worst fear. There's a moment
when we were sitting in court, it's like this Ladys
can walk away. She wouldn't even look at us though
her face so she was turned away. She had a
hair in front of her face, and she didn't make
a move, No one with the no compassion, no I'm sorry.
(06:39):
When I would look over, she had her head on
the table, looking down at the ground. Often rarely did
she look at any of the victims that I could recall.
And they said that too, and that that annoyed them,
that she wouldn't even acknowledge to them that she wronged them.
He owns the lab Law Group now, but back in
(07:03):
Paul LeBlanc is another federal prosecutor working on the Lizzie
Maulder case. He has a real law professor air about him,
extremely knowledgeable with decades of experience. He's an Iraq war
veteran and even served as a judge in the U. S. Navy.
This is probably the most intense sentencing that I have
(07:24):
ever experienced. And I have prosecuted when I was in
the military, some really traumatic, horrendous sexual assaults where victims
come in and tell their stories, and that's very compelling,
and it's a different type of compelling, but this one.
The tension in the courtroom when this was going down
(07:46):
was palpable because the victims are noticeably concerned that Lizzie
Mulder is going to get away. She doesn't have a
prior criminal record, her husband is a firefighter, she's the
mother of two little girls who need her. She also
pled guilty, sparing the court a costly trial. Judges tend
(08:08):
to look favorably on that kind of stuff and go
easier on the perpetrators standing before them. Federal prosecutor Scott
Tenley says sentencing is always a craft shoot. The judge
could decide to simply give her probation. He could have
done anything, because he's a judge. Do you see probation happen?
It certainly is much much less likely to happen when
(08:30):
the victims are in the courtroom, So for fraud sentences,
it's usually important to the government to bring the victims
so the court can hear you know firsthand how it
impacted the victims lives, and it's a lot harder for
a judge to say probation. The first victim to address
(08:54):
the court is Jay Avery. It's been two years since
Lizzie turned his world upside down with her cons His
wine business is now circling the drain because of what
she did. He's mad as hell and he wants justice.
I unnoyingly watched Lizzie s deal hundreds of thousands of
daughters from me, and the reality of the past few
(09:15):
years was overwhelming. All the money that she has stolen,
all the lives and decease, his time has that. I
still get angry, angry that she's stolen not just from me,
but my kids. I have three children. The fact that
she has two daughters of her own is battling what
she's capable of. She didn't even steal for their sake.
Plastic surgery is what we were told. That she spent
(09:35):
them lying on and in a luxury house from Lagoona
that she rented plastic surgery. He won't be the only
victim to bring that up. While the judge is moved
by Jay Avery's statement, he wants to talk to the
other victims too, to get a clear picture of the
devastation Lizzie's cons have caused some other folks. Okay, I'll
(10:00):
come back to you. I don't want thank you. Another
victim who addresses the court you'll remember from episode four.
My name is Mike Cochrane. I owned California Print Copy
for twenty two years and four months. Mike tells the
court that Lizzie Mulder not only scammed both him and
his parents out of almost forty dollars, but the years
(10:22):
she pretended to be paying his taxes while actually funneling
the money into her own bank account racked up a
staggering number of back taxes that causes the I R
S to punish Mike severely. We have thirty seven levies
on US levies levies for the I R S in
the state. They sent out four hundred twenty odd letters
(10:47):
to all my talk clients instructing them that they were
no longer able to pay me directly and that they
had to pay the I R S, which killed my
customer base. Nobody wanted to touch me, ruined our reputation.
Are you Are you in business today at all? You're not.
(11:08):
It's just heartbreaking. But when it comes to unpaid taxes,
the I R. S really doesn't care if you got
scammed or if you shirked your tax obligations intentionally. They
punish you the same. That's just the way it is,
And sadly, other companies Lizzie Scams aren't faring much better.
Every single day is a struggle to keep our business open.
(11:31):
Remember Geneva Mendoza and her Newport Beach salon. She steps
up to the podium and tells the court Lizzie still
almost three thousand from us, which ultimately devastated our business,
screwed up our credit, forced us to go into major debt.
We almost lost our own homes, damaged our relationships with
our staff, our family and each other. We are facing
(11:54):
bankruptcy because of her. Our dream to run a nice
business was secure for ourselves, has come crumbling down. We
have had to take an additional hundred and nine dollars
in debt to pay all the taxes and bills. And
Geneva's business partner, Lauren is there too. She gets up,
(12:15):
looks the judge square in the eye and speaks publicly
for the first time about her years long ordeal with
Lizzie Maulder. I've spent months thinking about how I could
possibly express the devastating impact this is out of my life,
but there aren't words that will accurately describe the pain, anxiety,
and stress that I have felt since her scheme began
(12:37):
to unfold. Learning of the cunning and devious tactics, the
betrayal of this woman I believed was my friend has
been beyond traumatizing, a position I never thought i'd be
in strategically calculated, manipulated, and crafted by Lizzie Mulder. Lizzie
and I went to high school together and reconnected at
(12:58):
a friend's wedding in Italy, which I'm sure she's been
other victims money on. Lizzie bragged about her education, where
she did her undergrad and where she did her master's program.
She told us often about how she passed the c
p A test on her very first try. But as
you know, Lizzie didn't graduate from college. She has zero credentials.
(13:20):
She's a self taught con artist. Over a two year period,
Lizzie would bring her family into our salon connesced with
her charm and reaped the benefits of over five thousand
dollars in bartered services, which Geneva and I would pay
out a pocket to our stylus. Only a sick individual
would capitalize on a trusted friendship. Sitting in my chair
(13:41):
staring at herself in the mirror, all the while knowing
that she's slowly destroying a business without any regard. She
spent our money on plastic surgery. How I've seen her scars? Well,
what kind of plastic surgery? It's called a full body lift?
What's that? It is where a lot of excess skin
(14:03):
and fat is removed and breast augmentation several times like
a fat transfer to make her butt bigger. That she
bragged about about just more than one plastic surgery, multiple events,
multiple plastic surgerys. And you were told about these on
each occasion. Because this is occurring, give me an idea
(14:25):
one or at least three to four. So she personally
told you about. She went on extensive trips, owned horses,
and lived a lavish lifestyle. Lizzie was by our side
for the beginning of our business president and our first
few Christmas parties, sat next to me at my bridal shower,
(14:46):
sat in the aisle at our wedding, gifted us all
the wine we drink at our wedding. I'm sorry, Jack
Free and you bought it from that gentleman. Oh, I
didn't buy it. Lizzie gifted it to us as a
wedding ift, about ten cases of his wine. Yep, but
told us it was a gift. But according to Jay Avery,
she never actually paid for it. She just took it
(15:09):
from Jack Wines. Lauren continues, she was one of the
first people I confided in when I became pregnant. I
actually considered you, Lizzie, one of my closest friends. Any
time I think of any of those events, I have
to try and erase you, Lizzie, because it was all alive.
(15:30):
I can't look at my wedding photos or video now
because you're all over them. Lizzie, you're a horrible person.
You have no regard for anyone but yourself, and it
will be no surprise that you'll try and present yourself
as wife and mother of the year. But that could
not be further from the truth. I don't believe she
has any regret or remorse her behavior is arrogant. It's
(15:52):
only sorry that she got caught in your honor. Before
I close, I want you to know Lizzie does not
believe she will do any jail time for this. I
know this because she has told people who have then
told me. Lizzie's belief that she'll get off scott free
might not be wrong. Non violent offenders walk out of
(16:13):
court with just probation and no jail time every single day.
But in a lot of those cases, victims like Geneva
and Lauren aren't in court explaining to the judge just
how devastated they are. Both pretty much this next victim,
(16:33):
who we've never heard from before, is irreparably damaged by
all the scams Lizzie Maulder pulls on her and her parents.
I'm not sure quite how to condense ten years of
lies and deceit and describe the pain and suffering it
caused me in my family. Friday thousand sixteen, that was
(16:54):
the day I discovered the person whom I had considered
my best friend, who was like a sister, had been
stealing from me. The next few months were so surreal,
like I was living a bad dream. Now, my family
and I are attempting to pick up the pieces and
recover from the losses Elizabeth caused us. Elizabeth Mulder is
a predator. She chose me as a target from day one.
(17:15):
I met her in the spring of two thousand six.
I was her pilodes instructor. She was friendly, likable, a
great listener, funny, approachable, all the perfect qualities in a
text butok best friend. She was very candid, never seemed
to hide anything. If anything, I would say she was
an oversharer. I believe she knew exactly the kind of
person she needed to portray in order to be well liked.
(17:36):
Over the next year, we became close friends, and during
that time she embedded herself into every aspect of my life.
She became friends with my family, my parents, my brothers,
their wives. She attended our family Christmas celebration. We celebrated
almost every holiday together. It was during this first year
that she became like a sister and I trusted her.
She integrated herself into my family for one purpose, only
(17:58):
to defraud me. In the fall of two thousand seven,
Elizabeth suggested that I opened my own pilot studio. She
had claimed to be an accountant and c pa neither
of which she actually is, and told me that she
had experienced helping other people establishing small businesses. She was
my best friend, so our arrangement was her services in
exchange for pilates. At the time, the exchange made sense
(18:21):
to me. The process went smoothly, and she seemed highly qualified.
She made things happen, I obviously didn't realize at the time.
Before my studio's doors were even opened, she was already
seizing the opportunity to steal from me. My studio was
incredibly successful. From day one, I was working seven days
a week and pouring my heart into my work. Within
the first year of business, I became pregnant with my
(18:41):
first child. Being a mother herself, she was once again
there every step of my pregnancy, buying extravagant baby gifts
and treating me to spaw days. Elizabeth even made sure
that she was at the hospital for the birth of
my baby. What happened in the hospital haunts me to
this day, and it has become even more disturbing to
me since discovered ring her fraud. Shortly after my C section,
(19:04):
I was still heavily medicated and recovering from surgery. Elizabeth
without my knowledge or permission, somehow accessed the heavily secured
NIKU where my daughter was recovering and held her Before
I ever had the chance. Elizabeth photographed herself holding my
baby and brought the pictures to my hospital room to
show me. I could not fully process what she had
(19:25):
managed to do, given what I had just been through.
She took that special moment from me. Her actions completely
sickened me. She has this need to be more part
of my life events than I was. The fact that
she was there for almost every big moment of my
life for the past decade makes me want to erase
so many memories. During the next eight years, Elizabeth continued
(19:47):
to help me with bookkeeping and taxes. We raised our
kids together, all four girls close in age, and even
went on family vacations together. My dad and husband helped
her move into her new, beautiful Laguna Beach home, which
she claimed to have purchased. During the last year, I learned,
Elizabeth soul for me for hundreds of checks to her
(20:08):
own personal bank account, used my company credit card for
her personal use, and also applied for and received loans
for over a hundred thousand dollars in my name. In total,
she stole more than two hundred thousand dollars. She used
it to pay luxuries like her plastic surgery. She owned
numerous courses road horses. Weekly, I sat down with my girls,
ages five and seven, to explain to them that my
(20:30):
best friend and the woman who was like family to them,
is dangerous and they should never speak with her or
have any contact. Sadly, next month, I will be closing
the doors of my studio. Ultimately, it is due to
the theft by Elizabeth Mulder. I cannot possibly recover from
the damages she caused in so many ways. I am
sure Elizabeth will look to this court for sympathy, pity,
(20:52):
and put on the performance of the loving mother and
humble wife. I assure you she is none of these things.
She is selfish, deceitful, and lacks remorse and empathy for
everything she did to me in my family. Elizabeth Mulder
is a predator. Her theft, lies, and manipulation continued for
over a decade. This was not an isolated incident or
single bad decision. This was a way of life for her,
(21:14):
and it is clear she never stopped to consider anyone
around her. I believe she knows no other way to live,
and would continue to steal and deceive other trusting people
like myself if given the chance. Thank you very much. Wow,
you can almost hear a pin drop in the courtroom.
The more victims who speak up like that, the less
(21:36):
likely it seems that Lizzie Mulder is going to walk
away from all this with just probation. The next victim
to take the podium as a business owner who Lizzie
scams while she's literally scamming everyone else for years, It's
just unfathomable to me how she kept all those plates
(21:56):
spinning at the same time. I knew Lizzie mother. She
was a friend of mine. Actually I had met her
years ago at Ris Carlton and she worked as a
massage therapist. So I actually had a, you know, kind
of a trust for Lizzie because she always talked about
Lizzie her daughter. I'm here today like so many others,
(22:18):
because I've had the great misfortune of trusting Elizabeth Mulder
Lizzie with the business that I've built for more than
a decade. From two thousand and eleven to two thousand sixteen,
she stole over eight hundred and fifty three thousand dollars.
She did not do this as a one time theft,
but in a deliberate, repeated, calculating fashion, devising several creative
(22:43):
methods of stealing money. Her schemes included forging my business checks,
creating fictitious insurance business checks. But her most damaging scheme
was her creation of the income tax payment an account
with Bank of America. Lizzie directed me to draft multiple
(23:04):
checks to income tax payments. Over a six year period
from two thousand twelve to two thousand sixteen, she deposited
over forty six checks from my business which were meant
to pay income tax payments. She would come to my
house and she'd say, it's time for your quarterly payment.
She would look me in the eye directly, and she'd say, blatantly,
(23:28):
you know what. I'm going to drive this to the
I R S. So it can be time stamped, so
there will be no chance it will get lost in
the mail or won't be deposited to your account. I've
worked all my life for over forty years. I'm sixty three.
It was a dream of my own to have my
own travel company. I hope to use my hard earned
money to eventually retire now my savings are wiped out,
(23:51):
and as a sixty three year old woman, I will
need to be working until I'm eighty to gain back
the loss. In addition, I lost my twenty year marriage.
I believe the disagreements with my husband over the financial
problems created by Lizzie ruined our marriage. I would ask
(24:11):
the court not to give great credence to Lizzie Maldor's
lack of prior criminal record, as the number of victims
and the length of time she has been defrauding them
shows that she has devoted much of her adult life
to stealing from other people. Your honor, I beg you
to give Lizzie Maldor the maximum sense. The number of
(24:35):
people she has heard, the amount of time she has
done it, and the callous and cruel manner in which
she abused the trust of at least sixteen victims and
probably more warrants the maximal possible sense. Even more importantly,
I think she needs the maximum sense in order to
keep her from other unsuspecting victims. I believe, if given
(24:56):
the chance, she would steal again tomorrow. I you were
being here, it's clear the damage Lizzie has done here
(25:17):
is not just financial, it's emotional. It broke up a marriage,
It robbed victims of their happy memories of their wedding day,
memories of their first child being born. After hearing from
a cross section of Lizzie's victims, the judge gets curious
the question I post right at the beginning that I'd
(25:37):
like you to ask on my behalf, or I'll ask
it is you've got the investigating officers here. I'd like
to know what happened at the first contact with the defendant.
And by the way, if she asserted her right to
an attorney, that's fine, she's entitled to that. Or was
she completely truthful? What was that first interview? Like us
shoot up to the podium to give that answer? Is
(26:00):
the hero of our story? Good morning, how are you doing?
I just need your name for the record, type of problem.
Jordan's first name, last name is Moracian. It's a pleasure.
I'm interested in the first contact, my very first contact
with miss Mulder. She came into the Laguna Beach Police Department.
(26:22):
I want to know if she lied to you or
mitigated her involvement, or if she just laid it out
she lied? Okay, tell me about what initially she lied
about and slow down and take your time with it. Absolutely.
I was already in the middle of an investigation involving
Jack Wines and Jay Avery at the time. I was
(26:44):
getting ready to approach the major fraud District Attorney through
the Orange County Superior Court to file charges against miss Mulder.
Jesse Mulder walked into the Laguna Beach Police station with
a friend, an attorney of his, to essentially expose what
was happening with his wife. At the time, I didn't
(27:05):
know who Jesse Moulder was. He came in literally as
I was walking out the door. One speculative portion of
that could be, look the words starting to get out
in the community that there's an investigation going on, and
if you're a suspicious investigator, here comes this person, not
(27:26):
just cold off the street, but with an attorney in tow,
obviously having knowledge that he might be accused of being involved,
or his wife might be accused, or they might correct.
So this isn't what I call a good Samaritan walk
in where somebody suddenly has a revelation. This is because
of your hard work, the words floating out there, and
(27:49):
this person knows enough to bring an attorney with him. Yes,
Salguna Beach is a very small town and word travels
very quickly. We have sometimes difficulty key bring our investigations
under wraps because we have employees that live in the community.
At the point that Mr Mulder walked in and revealed
to me what's been disclosed today by the other victims,
(28:12):
I was initially receptive but suspicious. I listened to what
he had to say, and then within a matter of
less than twenty four hours, I was going to attempt
to speak with miss Moulder and she checked herself into
a mental health facility. Okay, I just husband comes in
(28:34):
with an attorney. You're pretty far down the investigation line.
You might perceive that people in the community are starting
to talk. She checked herself into a mental facility. Correct,
three weeks after we executed the search warrant at Semit Drive. Okay,
and she did out of the mental hospital or out
(28:54):
of the Yes. And is that your first contact with her? Yes,
But at the time didn't want to speak with me.
And I told her as I left the residents here,
it's my business card. If you decide that you want
to speak with me, I'm at the Legion of Echil.
How long after the service of the warrant. Did she
come into the police department within eight to ten hours?
(29:15):
Now you say she lied to you, what happened, Well,
she initially lied. Uh. During the disclosure of how much
money she sold. Ms Mulder mitigated her responsibility. You know,
I get all sorts of people. I get people who
come in and they're just truthful, like to begin with,
absolutely lay it all out. You know, those are sometimes
(29:36):
people you work with as a judge, sometimes you don't. Okay,
but lies a big word. So I'm going to slow
you down. One lie was the amount they said. Other lies.
The other lies had to do with the amount of
victims that were out there. She did tell me about
Jack Wines, she told me about Tony and Guy har
Salon got it here showing about Andrea Builders. She did
(29:58):
not you're about California printh. No, she did knock and
there was one other or take attack and fee with
Mr Joseph Love, who's also present in court today. Okay, well,
thank you, thank you for pleasure. The judge doesn't seem
happy that Lizzie lie during her police interview about how
(30:19):
much money she stole and how many victims there were.
But when Lizzie Maulder addresses the court, none of that
comes up. She makes a straight play for leniency and
begs the judge for mercy, saying she plans to live
the rest of her life with honesty and integrity. F
(30:40):
y I. This is the first time Lizzie Maulder ever
speaks in public, and just as her victims predicted, she
leans hard into her persona as a loving mother and wife.
As any mother two young daughters, I fear that my
actions will cause them pain and they will never forgive me.
As a wife, I have a fear that my marriage
(31:01):
will not last the unknown punishment. Most of all, I
fear that I will not be able to repay my
restitution fast enough for the needs of the victims. And
as a human, I have fear that my legacy and
life will be that the good that I did in
life will not outshine all this bad. Judge Carter, I
ask of you today to let me show you that
(31:22):
if you choose to be kind enough to grant me leniency,
I will honor your decision by living the rest of
my life working towards making everyone whole again. I want
nothing more than to show my daughter that, even after
making terrible mistakes in life, you can still rebuild your
life with honesty and integrity. I believe that I am
worthy of your leniency, and I believe that I can
show others what positive can come out of granting me leniency.
(31:46):
I asked that you give me a chance to show
you that the good I can still do in life
will outshine the bad. Thank you, Thank you very much.
Now the balls in Judge David Carter's court. He can
literally do whatever he wants, whatever he deems just. He
can let Lizzie off with probation or send her away
(32:09):
for a lot of years. You can cut the tension
in that courtroom with a knife right now. Well, first
of all, we're back on the record. I want to
thank all of the parties for yours today. Eventually the
judge makes his decision and you can tell he's put
a lot of thought into it. I think that this
(32:33):
is the rare occasion when the appearance of the victims
have made a significant impact. Hearing from you has been extraordinary, beneficial.
It's easy to read on a piece of paper what
has occurred to people. It is very impactful when you
(32:55):
hear people come to court and you actually here the
harm that you've suffered. The court believes that the loss
cause is approximately one million, five thousand seven. These victims
(33:15):
have not been compensated. There's been a suffering of substantial
financial hardship that has ranged from h r s, leans penalties,
decreased business, the humble attempt to rebuild goodwill, including the
closing literally of a business, let alone the personal degradation
(33:40):
that has occurred. This has resulted in a substantial financial hardship.
The guideline range is seventy eight months and the government's
requested sixty three months for sentencing purposes. The defense and
the probation officer have requested thirty six months. The abuse
(34:02):
here is so prolonged, so personal, such a betrayal in
the sense that the moneys that were benefited from were
largely for personal aggrandizement, ranging from the personalized plastic surgery
to the horses to an increased lifestyle on the backs
(34:26):
of the victims in this matter, and this is particularly
a vulnerable segment of society because small business in America
is the backbone of our country. And listening to the
proceedings today, I think the government is absolutely correct in
(34:47):
your evaluation in this matter sixty three months. Also his
order that you should pay restitution in the total amount
of one million, five thousand seven Why one since so?
Lizzie Malder is sentenced to sixty three months a little
(35:08):
over five years in federal prison, and she's ordered to
pay more than one and a half million dollars in restitution,
but that figure doesn't include the millions of dollars she
causes her victims to lose in I R. S penalties,
in legal fees, and in back taxes. Lizzie Malder tells
the court she has no money to pay restitution, but
(35:32):
she says she'll pay her victims back as soon as
and as quickly as she can. After it was over,
we walked outside of the courtroom, federal prosecutors got Tenley
Is relieved, and the victims all kind of gathered around,
and I wanted to just talk to him about what
(35:52):
had happened. And one of the things I said to
them was, you know, I can tell you a d
you guys being here changed the ultimate sense, right, and
you had an impact. And I remember getting choked up,
and I don't know if they could tell, but probably
close to, you know, maybe tearing up because I was
(36:13):
that kind of emotionally myself impacted by the sentence and
and and I think, you know, people that work with
me would probably be like, well, that's not Scott right,
He's a pretty hardened, you know, straightforward guy. But I
just remember it was an incredibly emotional hearing and then
to come out and talk to them, and and you know,
I think a lot of them had a sense that
they got some amount of justice out of that hearing.
(36:36):
You know, part of it was the impact of what
they said, but also part of it was like, Wow,
this is why I'm doing this job, is to help
help people like this that need a voice and can
get some justice. But that's probably something I'll never forget
about my time as a as a prosecutor. Was was
that moment with with them and coming out of that hearing.
It was very It was a very moving and powerful
(36:58):
sentencing hearing. Yeah, all of victims are like, yeah, we
should go out for drinks and you know, you know,
not that any of the money's here, but justice has
been served. Shaneva Mendosah almost goes out of business after
Lizzie Malder's scams, Nearly three thousand dollars from the salon
and Newport Beach that she opened with her business partner Lauren.
(37:19):
It's going to take the span of our lease truly
to pay back what Lizzie stole from us. But I
think it speaks to the talent and the tenacity and
the drive of you and Lauren. You're still in business.
You took the hit and you came back out swinging
and you're doing really well. Now why would say we're
(37:40):
doing pretty well. I've done a lot of work and
I feel that I have come out of it stronger
and more aware. And that's what's what I'm taking. That's
the glasses is half full. Other victims, though, like Mike
Cochran's print shop, she crippled us. She crippled us badly,
(38:01):
and Jay Avery's Jack Wines her scams put you out
of business, We're not as fortunate. It was doing well
at had momentum, and I'll let her run with it.
Not knowing that this would be the outcome, I had
no idea. Lizzie Maulder reports to federal prison in January,
(38:27):
and she serves four years of her five year sentence.
She's released in January of two But this story is
not over. There's something really important that Lizzie Maulder is
not telling the judge and not telling prosecutors, and it
could cost her big. I definitely think that's a violation
(38:51):
of the plea agreement. If I was still to kiss
you off, yeah I would. I would say, yeah, I
would go to the boss and say this is something
we need to open up. Yes, you do next time.
On Queen of a Con The O C Savior, Lizzie
pulls a fast one on the judge and on federal prosecutors.
(39:15):
How can that legally go through? Well, I think it's
a matter of one hand doesn't know what the other
is doing. It's a new scam that could blow the
whole case wide open again. While you'd call it a
fraudulent conveyance, if I had found out that that was
going on, we could have probably backed out of the
plea agreement. Queen of a Con The O C Savior
(39:43):
is a production of A y R Media and I
Heart Media, hosted by me Jonathan Walton, executive producers Jonathan
Walton for Jonathan Walton Productions and Eliza Rosen for A
y R Media. Written by Jonathan Walton, Consulting producer Sir
Evan Goldstein, Senior Associate producer, Eric Newman. Sound design by
(40:06):
Baked ZD Media, mixed and mastered by Cameron Taggy. Sound editing,
audio and studio engineering by Matt Jacobsen. Legal counsel for
A y R Media, Gianni Douglas, Executive producer for iHeartMedia,
Maya Howard
Lizzie is one of the best sociopathic crooks I've ever
dealt with. In fact, I would venture to say that
her husband, Jesse Moulder, and the kids were more of
a prop. Every time she would defraud people, they were
part of that package. Lizzie Mulder is accused of scamming
nearly a dozen people in and around Orange County, including
(00:25):
a cowboy named Joe Love. He was an ex boyfriend
prior to Jesse Moulder. I think Lizzie used that relationship
to con Joe Love. Oh so, Joe Love is a victim.
He's a victim, but according to Lizzie, she's actually the victim.
And I can Detective Jordan Miracian can prove Lizzie's lying,
(00:51):
and he has a ton of evidence showing she's a
bona fide con artist. But the Orange County d A
isn't convinced. He's got a case and that hective is
told to just let it go and let Lizzie get away.
You know, I was getting pressure to basically close the case.
They wanted you to get rid of it and not
do any just close it. The district attorney told me,
(01:11):
I don't think this is a winnable case. It doesn't
really have any jury appeal, but instead Detective Morakian strategically
leap frogs over city and county authorities and gets the
federal government involved, people like Scott Tenley with the Department
of Justice. Almost anything you do, you swipe an a
t M card, you send a wire, it's going to
(01:32):
go through the Federal Reserve, it's going to go through
Bank of America and all over the place, multiple states,
and these days it's almost impossible not to be committing
a federal crime when you're doing fraud. But when Lizzie
Mulder finds out she's the target of an FBI investigation,
she panics, and what she does next surprises everyone. You know,
it's a bold move, But I didn't bat an eye lection. Yeah.
(02:05):
I'm Jonathan Walton and this is Queen of the con
The O C Savior Episode eight. The good that I did.
What's great about being an assistant United States Attorney and
(02:26):
a federal prosecutor is we get to choose the cases
we do. And so it's it's law enforcement agents bringing
cases to us and saying, here's what we have. Do
you want to make a federal case out of this
in July. Scott Tenley is a federal prosecutor with the
Department of Justice. When we get involved in a case,
it shakes people up. It shakes up defendants because this
(02:48):
is a federal case now, and that that's something that's
a very powerful part of the job working for the
federal government. You scare the bad guys exactly, and you
wouldn't take a case if there wasn't a good case there. Well, certainly,
we're not going to take a case that we wouldn't
be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. And somewhere
along the way, Lizzie Maulder figures this out and starts
(03:09):
waving a white flag. An attorney called and said, I'm
going to represent Lizzie Moulder, and we walked through the
evidence and then pretty quickly Lizzie wanted to resolve the
case with a plea agreement. Yep, you heard right. In
March of more than a year after Detective Jordan Morakian
(03:31):
first starts investigating her, Lizzie Malder wants to plead guilty
for scamming nearly a dozen people out of more than
one and a half million dollars. Because her guilty plea
will spare the government the uncertainty and the expense of
a trial. Prosecutors agreed to reduce the charges they were
(03:51):
initially planning to bring against her. And so in that
instance where we haven't had to file an indictment with
all the charges, we effectively negotiate and pick what charges
will be filed. So we brought wire fraud charge, which
is any type of fraud committed against the victim where
you take their property through fraud using the interstate wires.
(04:12):
And then we also brought a tax related charge because
she failed to report, as you would expect report her
stolen money as income on her taxes. And so she
pled to both of the charges we filed. Even though
we could have filed twenty more counts, thirty more counts,
it was just the two that we picked. So those
are the two that were actually filed. The other ones
(04:33):
were just like waiting in the wings in case it
was going to go to trial. If she had not
agreed to plead guilty without an indictment and she said, no,
you got to charge me, we would have charged her
with multiple counts of wire fraud, multiple counts of filing
false tax returns. We would probably have considered charging her
with something called aggravated identity theft because she was impersonating
(04:54):
people that she knew were obviously real people, and so
by coming in and resolving the case early, she helped
kind of control her exposure. But things are far from over.
While there isn't going to be a trial per se,
there is going to be a sentencing hearing in a
federal courtroom where a judge will decide how much prison time,
(05:15):
if any at all, Lizzie Mulder gets, for the crimes
she committed. I'd like to hear from you, counsel, that
I'd like to hear from the victims, and then I've
got a couple of questions for you, miss Mulder. It's Monday, October.
Courtroom ten A of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in
(05:37):
downtown Santa Anna is packed at nine in the morning.
A visibly distraught Lizzie Mulder is there, hands folded and
looking down with her husband Jesse, as are several of
her victims, some of whom we've never heard from until today. Lawyers,
police officers, FBI agents, and members of the press are
(05:59):
all and in attendance. The recording of this proceeding has
never seen the light of day until now. The Honorable
David O. Carter is presiding. Why don't we hear from
the victims. It's possible Lizzie Mulder could get off today
with no prison time at all, just probation. And that's
(06:19):
actually Jay and Marla Avery's worst fear. There's a moment
when we were sitting in court, it's like this Ladys
can walk away. She wouldn't even look at us though
her face so she was turned away. She had a
hair in front of her face, and she didn't make
a move, No one with the no compassion, no I'm sorry.
(06:39):
When I would look over, she had her head on
the table, looking down at the ground. Often rarely did
she look at any of the victims that I could recall.
And they said that too, and that that annoyed them,
that she wouldn't even acknowledge to them that she wronged them.
He owns the lab Law Group now, but back in
(07:03):
Paul LeBlanc is another federal prosecutor working on the Lizzie
Maulder case. He has a real law professor air about him,
extremely knowledgeable with decades of experience. He's an Iraq war
veteran and even served as a judge in the U. S. Navy.
This is probably the most intense sentencing that I have
(07:24):
ever experienced. And I have prosecuted when I was in
the military, some really traumatic, horrendous sexual assaults where victims
come in and tell their stories, and that's very compelling,
and it's a different type of compelling, but this one.
The tension in the courtroom when this was going down
(07:46):
was palpable because the victims are noticeably concerned that Lizzie
Mulder is going to get away. She doesn't have a
prior criminal record, her husband is a firefighter, she's the
mother of two little girls who need her. She also
pled guilty, sparing the court a costly trial. Judges tend
(08:08):
to look favorably on that kind of stuff and go
easier on the perpetrators standing before them. Federal prosecutor Scott
Tenley says sentencing is always a craft shoot. The judge
could decide to simply give her probation. He could have
done anything, because he's a judge. Do you see probation happen?
It certainly is much much less likely to happen when
(08:30):
the victims are in the courtroom, So for fraud sentences,
it's usually important to the government to bring the victims
so the court can hear you know firsthand how it
impacted the victims lives, and it's a lot harder for
a judge to say probation. The first victim to address
(08:54):
the court is Jay Avery. It's been two years since
Lizzie turned his world upside down with her cons His
wine business is now circling the drain because of what
she did. He's mad as hell and he wants justice.
I unnoyingly watched Lizzie s deal hundreds of thousands of
daughters from me, and the reality of the past few
(09:15):
years was overwhelming. All the money that she has stolen,
all the lives and decease, his time has that. I
still get angry, angry that she's stolen not just from me,
but my kids. I have three children. The fact that
she has two daughters of her own is battling what
she's capable of. She didn't even steal for their sake.
Plastic surgery is what we were told. That she spent
(09:35):
them lying on and in a luxury house from Lagoona
that she rented plastic surgery. He won't be the only
victim to bring that up. While the judge is moved
by Jay Avery's statement, he wants to talk to the
other victims too, to get a clear picture of the
devastation Lizzie's cons have caused some other folks. Okay, I'll
(10:00):
come back to you. I don't want thank you. Another
victim who addresses the court you'll remember from episode four.
My name is Mike Cochrane. I owned California Print Copy
for twenty two years and four months. Mike tells the
court that Lizzie Mulder not only scammed both him and
his parents out of almost forty dollars, but the years
(10:22):
she pretended to be paying his taxes while actually funneling
the money into her own bank account racked up a
staggering number of back taxes that causes the I R
S to punish Mike severely. We have thirty seven levies
on US levies levies for the I R S in
the state. They sent out four hundred twenty odd letters
(10:47):
to all my talk clients instructing them that they were
no longer able to pay me directly and that they
had to pay the I R S, which killed my
customer base. Nobody wanted to touch me, ruined our reputation.
Are you Are you in business today at all? You're not.
(11:08):
It's just heartbreaking. But when it comes to unpaid taxes,
the I R. S really doesn't care if you got
scammed or if you shirked your tax obligations intentionally. They
punish you the same. That's just the way it is,
And sadly, other companies Lizzie Scams aren't faring much better.
Every single day is a struggle to keep our business open.
(11:31):
Remember Geneva Mendoza and her Newport Beach salon. She steps
up to the podium and tells the court Lizzie still
almost three thousand from us, which ultimately devastated our business,
screwed up our credit, forced us to go into major debt.
We almost lost our own homes, damaged our relationships with
our staff, our family and each other. We are facing
(11:54):
bankruptcy because of her. Our dream to run a nice
business was secure for ourselves, has come crumbling down. We
have had to take an additional hundred and nine dollars
in debt to pay all the taxes and bills. And
Geneva's business partner, Lauren is there too. She gets up,
(12:15):
looks the judge square in the eye and speaks publicly
for the first time about her years long ordeal with
Lizzie Maulder. I've spent months thinking about how I could
possibly express the devastating impact this is out of my life,
but there aren't words that will accurately describe the pain, anxiety,
and stress that I have felt since her scheme began
(12:37):
to unfold. Learning of the cunning and devious tactics, the
betrayal of this woman I believed was my friend has
been beyond traumatizing, a position I never thought i'd be
in strategically calculated, manipulated, and crafted by Lizzie Mulder. Lizzie
and I went to high school together and reconnected at
(12:58):
a friend's wedding in Italy, which I'm sure she's been
other victims money on. Lizzie bragged about her education, where
she did her undergrad and where she did her master's program.
She told us often about how she passed the c
p A test on her very first try. But as
you know, Lizzie didn't graduate from college. She has zero credentials.
(13:20):
She's a self taught con artist. Over a two year period,
Lizzie would bring her family into our salon connesced with
her charm and reaped the benefits of over five thousand
dollars in bartered services, which Geneva and I would pay
out a pocket to our stylus. Only a sick individual
would capitalize on a trusted friendship. Sitting in my chair
(13:41):
staring at herself in the mirror, all the while knowing
that she's slowly destroying a business without any regard. She
spent our money on plastic surgery. How I've seen her scars? Well,
what kind of plastic surgery? It's called a full body lift?
What's that? It is where a lot of excess skin
(14:03):
and fat is removed and breast augmentation several times like
a fat transfer to make her butt bigger. That she
bragged about about just more than one plastic surgery, multiple events,
multiple plastic surgerys. And you were told about these on
each occasion. Because this is occurring, give me an idea
(14:25):
one or at least three to four. So she personally
told you about. She went on extensive trips, owned horses,
and lived a lavish lifestyle. Lizzie was by our side
for the beginning of our business president and our first
few Christmas parties, sat next to me at my bridal shower,
(14:46):
sat in the aisle at our wedding, gifted us all
the wine we drink at our wedding. I'm sorry, Jack
Free and you bought it from that gentleman. Oh, I
didn't buy it. Lizzie gifted it to us as a
wedding ift, about ten cases of his wine. Yep, but
told us it was a gift. But according to Jay Avery,
she never actually paid for it. She just took it
(15:09):
from Jack Wines. Lauren continues, she was one of the
first people I confided in when I became pregnant. I
actually considered you, Lizzie, one of my closest friends. Any
time I think of any of those events, I have
to try and erase you, Lizzie, because it was all alive.
(15:30):
I can't look at my wedding photos or video now
because you're all over them. Lizzie, you're a horrible person.
You have no regard for anyone but yourself, and it
will be no surprise that you'll try and present yourself
as wife and mother of the year. But that could
not be further from the truth. I don't believe she
has any regret or remorse her behavior is arrogant. It's
(15:52):
only sorry that she got caught in your honor. Before
I close, I want you to know Lizzie does not
believe she will do any jail time for this. I
know this because she has told people who have then
told me. Lizzie's belief that she'll get off scott free
might not be wrong. Non violent offenders walk out of
(16:13):
court with just probation and no jail time every single day.
But in a lot of those cases, victims like Geneva
and Lauren aren't in court explaining to the judge just
how devastated they are. Both pretty much this next victim,
(16:33):
who we've never heard from before, is irreparably damaged by
all the scams Lizzie Maulder pulls on her and her parents.
I'm not sure quite how to condense ten years of
lies and deceit and describe the pain and suffering it
caused me in my family. Friday thousand sixteen, that was
(16:54):
the day I discovered the person whom I had considered
my best friend, who was like a sister, had been
stealing from me. The next few months were so surreal,
like I was living a bad dream. Now, my family
and I are attempting to pick up the pieces and
recover from the losses Elizabeth caused us. Elizabeth Mulder is
a predator. She chose me as a target from day one.
(17:15):
I met her in the spring of two thousand six.
I was her pilodes instructor. She was friendly, likable, a
great listener, funny, approachable, all the perfect qualities in a
text butok best friend. She was very candid, never seemed
to hide anything. If anything, I would say she was
an oversharer. I believe she knew exactly the kind of
person she needed to portray in order to be well liked.
(17:36):
Over the next year, we became close friends, and during
that time she embedded herself into every aspect of my life.
She became friends with my family, my parents, my brothers,
their wives. She attended our family Christmas celebration. We celebrated
almost every holiday together. It was during this first year
that she became like a sister and I trusted her.
She integrated herself into my family for one purpose, only
(17:58):
to defraud me. In the fall of two thousand seven,
Elizabeth suggested that I opened my own pilot studio. She
had claimed to be an accountant and c pa neither
of which she actually is, and told me that she
had experienced helping other people establishing small businesses. She was
my best friend, so our arrangement was her services in
exchange for pilates. At the time, the exchange made sense
(18:21):
to me. The process went smoothly, and she seemed highly qualified.
She made things happen, I obviously didn't realize at the time.
Before my studio's doors were even opened, she was already
seizing the opportunity to steal from me. My studio was
incredibly successful. From day one, I was working seven days
a week and pouring my heart into my work. Within
the first year of business, I became pregnant with my
(18:41):
first child. Being a mother herself, she was once again
there every step of my pregnancy, buying extravagant baby gifts
and treating me to spaw days. Elizabeth even made sure
that she was at the hospital for the birth of
my baby. What happened in the hospital haunts me to
this day, and it has become even more disturbing to
me since discovered ring her fraud. Shortly after my C section,
(19:04):
I was still heavily medicated and recovering from surgery. Elizabeth
without my knowledge or permission, somehow accessed the heavily secured
NIKU where my daughter was recovering and held her Before
I ever had the chance. Elizabeth photographed herself holding my
baby and brought the pictures to my hospital room to
show me. I could not fully process what she had
(19:25):
managed to do, given what I had just been through.
She took that special moment from me. Her actions completely
sickened me. She has this need to be more part
of my life events than I was. The fact that
she was there for almost every big moment of my
life for the past decade makes me want to erase
so many memories. During the next eight years, Elizabeth continued
(19:47):
to help me with bookkeeping and taxes. We raised our
kids together, all four girls close in age, and even
went on family vacations together. My dad and husband helped
her move into her new, beautiful Laguna Beach home, which
she claimed to have purchased. During the last year, I learned,
Elizabeth soul for me for hundreds of checks to her
(20:08):
own personal bank account, used my company credit card for
her personal use, and also applied for and received loans
for over a hundred thousand dollars in my name. In total,
she stole more than two hundred thousand dollars. She used
it to pay luxuries like her plastic surgery. She owned
numerous courses road horses. Weekly, I sat down with my girls,
ages five and seven, to explain to them that my
(20:30):
best friend and the woman who was like family to them,
is dangerous and they should never speak with her or
have any contact. Sadly, next month, I will be closing
the doors of my studio. Ultimately, it is due to
the theft by Elizabeth Mulder. I cannot possibly recover from
the damages she caused in so many ways. I am
sure Elizabeth will look to this court for sympathy, pity,
(20:52):
and put on the performance of the loving mother and
humble wife. I assure you she is none of these things.
She is selfish, deceitful, and lacks remorse and empathy for
everything she did to me in my family. Elizabeth Mulder
is a predator. Her theft, lies, and manipulation continued for
over a decade. This was not an isolated incident or
single bad decision. This was a way of life for her,
(21:14):
and it is clear she never stopped to consider anyone
around her. I believe she knows no other way to live,
and would continue to steal and deceive other trusting people
like myself if given the chance. Thank you very much. Wow,
you can almost hear a pin drop in the courtroom.
The more victims who speak up like that, the less
(21:36):
likely it seems that Lizzie Mulder is going to walk
away from all this with just probation. The next victim
to take the podium as a business owner who Lizzie
scams while she's literally scamming everyone else for years, It's
just unfathomable to me how she kept all those plates
(21:56):
spinning at the same time. I knew Lizzie mother. She
was a friend of mine. Actually I had met her
years ago at Ris Carlton and she worked as a
massage therapist. So I actually had a, you know, kind
of a trust for Lizzie because she always talked about
Lizzie her daughter. I'm here today like so many others,
(22:18):
because I've had the great misfortune of trusting Elizabeth Mulder
Lizzie with the business that I've built for more than
a decade. From two thousand and eleven to two thousand sixteen,
she stole over eight hundred and fifty three thousand dollars.
She did not do this as a one time theft,
but in a deliberate, repeated, calculating fashion, devising several creative
(22:43):
methods of stealing money. Her schemes included forging my business checks,
creating fictitious insurance business checks. But her most damaging scheme
was her creation of the income tax payment an account
with Bank of America. Lizzie directed me to draft multiple
(23:04):
checks to income tax payments. Over a six year period
from two thousand twelve to two thousand sixteen, she deposited
over forty six checks from my business which were meant
to pay income tax payments. She would come to my
house and she'd say, it's time for your quarterly payment.
She would look me in the eye directly, and she'd say, blatantly,
(23:28):
you know what. I'm going to drive this to the
I R S. So it can be time stamped, so
there will be no chance it will get lost in
the mail or won't be deposited to your account. I've
worked all my life for over forty years. I'm sixty three.
It was a dream of my own to have my
own travel company. I hope to use my hard earned
money to eventually retire now my savings are wiped out,
(23:51):
and as a sixty three year old woman, I will
need to be working until I'm eighty to gain back
the loss. In addition, I lost my twenty year marriage.
I believe the disagreements with my husband over the financial
problems created by Lizzie ruined our marriage. I would ask
(24:11):
the court not to give great credence to Lizzie Maldor's
lack of prior criminal record, as the number of victims
and the length of time she has been defrauding them
shows that she has devoted much of her adult life
to stealing from other people. Your honor, I beg you
to give Lizzie Maldor the maximum sense. The number of
(24:35):
people she has heard, the amount of time she has
done it, and the callous and cruel manner in which
she abused the trust of at least sixteen victims and
probably more warrants the maximal possible sense. Even more importantly,
I think she needs the maximum sense in order to
keep her from other unsuspecting victims. I believe, if given
(24:56):
the chance, she would steal again tomorrow. I you were
being here, it's clear the damage Lizzie has done here
(25:17):
is not just financial, it's emotional. It broke up a marriage,
It robbed victims of their happy memories of their wedding day,
memories of their first child being born. After hearing from
a cross section of Lizzie's victims, the judge gets curious
the question I post right at the beginning that I'd
(25:37):
like you to ask on my behalf, or I'll ask
it is you've got the investigating officers here. I'd like
to know what happened at the first contact with the defendant.
And by the way, if she asserted her right to
an attorney, that's fine, she's entitled to that. Or was
she completely truthful? What was that first interview? Like us
shoot up to the podium to give that answer? Is
(26:00):
the hero of our story? Good morning, how are you doing?
I just need your name for the record, type of problem.
Jordan's first name, last name is Moracian. It's a pleasure.
I'm interested in the first contact, my very first contact
with miss Mulder. She came into the Laguna Beach Police Department.
(26:22):
I want to know if she lied to you or
mitigated her involvement, or if she just laid it out
she lied? Okay, tell me about what initially she lied
about and slow down and take your time with it. Absolutely.
I was already in the middle of an investigation involving
Jack Wines and Jay Avery at the time. I was
(26:44):
getting ready to approach the major fraud District Attorney through
the Orange County Superior Court to file charges against miss Mulder.
Jesse Mulder walked into the Laguna Beach Police station with
a friend, an attorney of his, to essentially expose what
was happening with his wife. At the time, I didn't
(27:05):
know who Jesse Moulder was. He came in literally as
I was walking out the door. One speculative portion of
that could be, look the words starting to get out
in the community that there's an investigation going on, and
if you're a suspicious investigator, here comes this person, not
(27:26):
just cold off the street, but with an attorney in tow,
obviously having knowledge that he might be accused of being involved,
or his wife might be accused, or they might correct.
So this isn't what I call a good Samaritan walk
in where somebody suddenly has a revelation. This is because
of your hard work, the words floating out there, and
(27:49):
this person knows enough to bring an attorney with him. Yes,
Salguna Beach is a very small town and word travels
very quickly. We have sometimes difficulty key bring our investigations
under wraps because we have employees that live in the community.
At the point that Mr Mulder walked in and revealed
to me what's been disclosed today by the other victims,
(28:12):
I was initially receptive but suspicious. I listened to what
he had to say, and then within a matter of
less than twenty four hours, I was going to attempt
to speak with miss Moulder and she checked herself into
a mental health facility. Okay, I just husband comes in
(28:34):
with an attorney. You're pretty far down the investigation line.
You might perceive that people in the community are starting
to talk. She checked herself into a mental facility. Correct,
three weeks after we executed the search warrant at Semit Drive. Okay,
and she did out of the mental hospital or out
(28:54):
of the Yes. And is that your first contact with her? Yes,
But at the time didn't want to speak with me.
And I told her as I left the residents here,
it's my business card. If you decide that you want
to speak with me, I'm at the Legion of Echil.
How long after the service of the warrant. Did she
come into the police department within eight to ten hours?
(29:15):
Now you say she lied to you, what happened, Well,
she initially lied. Uh. During the disclosure of how much
money she sold. Ms Mulder mitigated her responsibility. You know,
I get all sorts of people. I get people who
come in and they're just truthful, like to begin with,
absolutely lay it all out. You know, those are sometimes
(29:36):
people you work with as a judge, sometimes you don't. Okay,
but lies a big word. So I'm going to slow
you down. One lie was the amount they said. Other lies.
The other lies had to do with the amount of
victims that were out there. She did tell me about
Jack Wines, she told me about Tony and Guy har
Salon got it here showing about Andrea Builders. She did
(29:58):
not you're about California printh. No, she did knock and
there was one other or take attack and fee with
Mr Joseph Love, who's also present in court today. Okay, well,
thank you, thank you for pleasure. The judge doesn't seem
happy that Lizzie lie during her police interview about how
(30:19):
much money she stole and how many victims there were.
But when Lizzie Maulder addresses the court, none of that
comes up. She makes a straight play for leniency and
begs the judge for mercy, saying she plans to live
the rest of her life with honesty and integrity. F
(30:40):
y I. This is the first time Lizzie Maulder ever
speaks in public, and just as her victims predicted, she
leans hard into her persona as a loving mother and wife.
As any mother two young daughters, I fear that my
actions will cause them pain and they will never forgive me.
As a wife, I have a fear that my marriage
(31:01):
will not last the unknown punishment. Most of all, I
fear that I will not be able to repay my
restitution fast enough for the needs of the victims. And
as a human, I have fear that my legacy and
life will be that the good that I did in
life will not outshine all this bad. Judge Carter, I
ask of you today to let me show you that
(31:22):
if you choose to be kind enough to grant me leniency,
I will honor your decision by living the rest of
my life working towards making everyone whole again. I want
nothing more than to show my daughter that, even after
making terrible mistakes in life, you can still rebuild your
life with honesty and integrity. I believe that I am
worthy of your leniency, and I believe that I can
show others what positive can come out of granting me leniency.
(31:46):
I asked that you give me a chance to show
you that the good I can still do in life
will outshine the bad. Thank you, Thank you very much.
Now the balls in Judge David Carter's court. He can
literally do whatever he wants, whatever he deems just. He
can let Lizzie off with probation or send her away
(32:09):
for a lot of years. You can cut the tension
in that courtroom with a knife right now. Well, first
of all, we're back on the record. I want to
thank all of the parties for yours today. Eventually the
judge makes his decision and you can tell he's put
a lot of thought into it. I think that this
(32:33):
is the rare occasion when the appearance of the victims
have made a significant impact. Hearing from you has been extraordinary, beneficial.
It's easy to read on a piece of paper what
has occurred to people. It is very impactful when you
(32:55):
hear people come to court and you actually here the
harm that you've suffered. The court believes that the loss
cause is approximately one million, five thousand seven. These victims
(33:15):
have not been compensated. There's been a suffering of substantial
financial hardship that has ranged from h r s, leans penalties,
decreased business, the humble attempt to rebuild goodwill, including the
closing literally of a business, let alone the personal degradation
(33:40):
that has occurred. This has resulted in a substantial financial hardship.
The guideline range is seventy eight months and the government's
requested sixty three months for sentencing purposes. The defense and
the probation officer have requested thirty six months. The abuse
(34:02):
here is so prolonged, so personal, such a betrayal in
the sense that the moneys that were benefited from were
largely for personal aggrandizement, ranging from the personalized plastic surgery
to the horses to an increased lifestyle on the backs
(34:26):
of the victims in this matter, and this is particularly
a vulnerable segment of society because small business in America
is the backbone of our country. And listening to the
proceedings today, I think the government is absolutely correct in
(34:47):
your evaluation in this matter sixty three months. Also his
order that you should pay restitution in the total amount
of one million, five thousand seven Why one since so?
Lizzie Malder is sentenced to sixty three months a little
(35:08):
over five years in federal prison, and she's ordered to
pay more than one and a half million dollars in restitution,
but that figure doesn't include the millions of dollars she
causes her victims to lose in I R. S penalties,
in legal fees, and in back taxes. Lizzie Malder tells
the court she has no money to pay restitution, but
(35:32):
she says she'll pay her victims back as soon as
and as quickly as she can. After it was over,
we walked outside of the courtroom, federal prosecutors got Tenley
Is relieved, and the victims all kind of gathered around,
and I wanted to just talk to him about what
(35:52):
had happened. And one of the things I said to
them was, you know, I can tell you a d
you guys being here changed the ultimate sense, right, and
you had an impact. And I remember getting choked up,
and I don't know if they could tell, but probably
close to, you know, maybe tearing up because I was
(36:13):
that kind of emotionally myself impacted by the sentence and
and and I think, you know, people that work with
me would probably be like, well, that's not Scott right,
He's a pretty hardened, you know, straightforward guy. But I
just remember it was an incredibly emotional hearing and then
to come out and talk to them, and and you know,
I think a lot of them had a sense that
they got some amount of justice out of that hearing.
(36:36):
You know, part of it was the impact of what
they said, but also part of it was like, Wow,
this is why I'm doing this job, is to help
help people like this that need a voice and can
get some justice. But that's probably something I'll never forget
about my time as a as a prosecutor. Was was
that moment with with them and coming out of that hearing.
It was very It was a very moving and powerful
(36:58):
sentencing hearing. Yeah, all of victims are like, yeah, we
should go out for drinks and you know, you know,
not that any of the money's here, but justice has
been served. Shaneva Mendosah almost goes out of business after
Lizzie Malder's scams, Nearly three thousand dollars from the salon
and Newport Beach that she opened with her business partner Lauren.
(37:19):
It's going to take the span of our lease truly
to pay back what Lizzie stole from us. But I
think it speaks to the talent and the tenacity and
the drive of you and Lauren. You're still in business.
You took the hit and you came back out swinging
and you're doing really well. Now why would say we're
(37:40):
doing pretty well. I've done a lot of work and
I feel that I have come out of it stronger
and more aware. And that's what's what I'm taking. That's
the glasses is half full. Other victims, though, like Mike
Cochran's print shop, she crippled us. She crippled us badly,
(38:01):
and Jay Avery's Jack Wines her scams put you out
of business, We're not as fortunate. It was doing well
at had momentum, and I'll let her run with it.
Not knowing that this would be the outcome, I had
no idea. Lizzie Maulder reports to federal prison in January,
(38:27):
and she serves four years of her five year sentence.
She's released in January of two But this story is
not over. There's something really important that Lizzie Maulder is
not telling the judge and not telling prosecutors, and it
could cost her big. I definitely think that's a violation
(38:51):
of the plea agreement. If I was still to kiss
you off, yeah I would. I would say, yeah, I
would go to the boss and say this is something
we need to open up. Yes, you do next time.
On Queen of a Con The O C Savior, Lizzie
pulls a fast one on the judge and on federal prosecutors.
(39:15):
How can that legally go through? Well, I think it's
a matter of one hand doesn't know what the other
is doing. It's a new scam that could blow the
whole case wide open again. While you'd call it a
fraudulent conveyance, if I had found out that that was
going on, we could have probably backed out of the
plea agreement. Queen of a Con The O C Savior
(39:43):
is a production of A y R Media and I
Heart Media, hosted by me Jonathan Walton, executive producers Jonathan
Walton for Jonathan Walton Productions and Eliza Rosen for A
y R Media. Written by Jonathan Walton, Consulting producer Sir
Evan Goldstein, Senior Associate producer, Eric Newman. Sound design by
(40:06):
Baked ZD Media, mixed and mastered by Cameron Taggy. Sound editing,
audio and studio engineering by Matt Jacobsen. Legal counsel for
A y R Media, Gianni Douglas, Executive producer for iHeartMedia,
Maya Howard
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