Irvine : Head of Bankrupt Firm, Wife to Be Arraigned

The president of a bankrupt Irvine development company and his wife are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Municipal Court on charges of embezzlement, bribery, forgery and grand theft.

The 20-count felony complaint filed by the Orange County district attorney’s office against Gerald F. Goeden, 44, and his 42-year-old wife, Betty Jo, who live in Fountain Valley, involves more than $1 million.

Goeden was president of the Goeden Co., and his wife was secretary-treasurer until the firm filed for protection under federal bankruptcy laws in January, 1984. The company had been involved in development of expensive residential tracts in San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel and Orange.

According to Investigator Tom Garner of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Goedens together face charges of writing bad checks totaling $440,000 to the E.F. Hutton Co. in Newport Beach to purchase commodity futures.

Garner said Gerald Goeden is also accused of diverting as much as $500,000 from construction loans granted to his company by Tokai Bank, Bank of America, Crocker Bank and Imperial Bank.

Garner said the forgery and grand theft counts involve a $300,000 loan Goeden obtained from Imperial Bank to buy property in Walnut. Goeden provided the bank with a forged deed showing he had bought the land and then used the money for other purposes, according to Garner.

Goeden is also charged with bribing a bank official in order to obtain loans, Garner said.