SOUTHLAND : Woman Convicted in Thrift Case
A federal jury in Santa Ana today found Janet Faye McKinzie guilty of racketeering, conspiracy and fraud in connection with the 1987 failure of North America Savings & Loan.
The verdict came after a 2 1/2-month trial in U.S. District Court in which the defense argued that McKinzie was duped into carrying out the fraud because she was involuntarily intoxicated by drugs provided by the thrift’s chairman.
McKinzie was a confidante of the thrift’s former chairman, Dr. Duayne Christensen, a dentist who died mysteriously in a car accident hours before federal regulators took over the thrift. The institution’s collapse cost taxpayers more than $120 million.
The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated for nearly two weeks before finding McKinzie guilty on 22 counts of racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property. McKinzie faces a possible sentence of up to 180 years in prison.
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