Charges Filed Against Woman Over Evidence : Crime: Her arrest may lead to the exoneration of Chris Jiron, a probation officer she accused of a conflict of interest.

A Ventura woman who filed a conflict-of-interest claim against a county probation officer last year has been charged with submitting forged letters to support her allegation.

Scarlett O’Casey, 48, pleaded not guilty Thursday to eight felony counts of creating and submitting forged documents.

Officials said her arrest is expected to lead to the exoneration of Chris Jiron, the probation officer whom O’Casey accused Oct. 21, and to dismissal of the $1-million claim that she filed against Ventura County.

“All the evidence we have uncovered certainly seems to indicate that the allegation is completely bogus,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald D. Coleman, who supervised the investigation of Jiron.

Jiron was off Thursday and could not be reached for comment. Bill Forden, head of the county probation agency, said the arrest of Jiron’s accuser “does indicate that this was pretty much a trumped-up situation.”

Jiron was the probation officer supervising O’Casey’s ex-husband, attorney Benson J. Goldstein of Woodland Hills. In 1988, Goldstein was convicted of spouse abuse for striking O’Casey in the head.

According to O’Casey’s claim, Goldstein provided Jiron with free legal advice on a property matter. In return, the claim alleged, Jiron was lenient in enforcing the conditions of Goldstein’s probation, which required the attorney to pay medical bills resulting from the beating.

To support her claim of a conflict of interest, O’Casey submitted two letters, one purporting to be from Jiron to Goldstein and one supposedly sent by the attorney to the probation officer. Both letters make reference to a possible property purchase.

And both were complete forgeries, according to the charges against O’Casey.

Also, O’Casey is accused of fabricating two letters that falsely stated that her health insurance premiums were increasing by $78 per month. Those letters were apparently aimed at increasing the ex-husband’s restitution payments.

During Coleman’s investigation of Jiron, Goldstein’s case was assigned to another probation officer.

O’Casey was arrested Wednesday at the Telegraph Road commercial building that serves as both her residence and the office of her company, a legal-aid service known as Eviction Alternatives. Investigators seized several office machines and computer components that were allegedly used in creating the documents.

At the request of the prosecutor, Municipal Judge Barry B. Klopfer refused to lower O’Casey’s $50,000 bail.

“As long as she has access to a typewriter and a Xerox machine, she poses a danger to the public and the court system,” Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles R. Roberts Sr. said.

If convicted on all the charges, O’Casey could face a maximum term of six years in prison, Roberts said.

Eileen Walker, an attorney who initially represented O’Casey at Thursday’s arraignment, said O’Casey maintains her innocence. “She categorically denies that she did any forging of any document,” Walker said. Walker, who said she specializes in civil matters, turned the case over to the public defender’s office.

Goldstein, whose divorce from O’Casey became final last month, said he was “tickled pink” to learn of her arrest.

“That’s marvelous,” he said. “I’m just thrilled. It’s probably hard for you to think I could be so cold about it, but you don’t know what she’s put me through.”

O’Casey, he said, “is someone who lies, lies, lies, tells the truth, lies, lies, tells the truth, then lies--all in the same sentence. It throws you. I’ve never met a person like this in my life.”

According to court documents, witnesses who once worked with O’Casey said they had frequently seen her cut a signature from one document and attach it to another with paste. Then she would use a copy machine to make a duplicate on which the signature looked genuine, according to court papers. O’Casey also was observed using whiteout and other document-altering devices to create blank sheets of letterhead, according to the documents.

For example, as evidence of her injuries, O’Casey provided a medical report signed “Joan Tafoya, M.D.,” typed on the letterhead of a Simi Valley radiology clinic. According to court documents, however, no such physician is listed on state license records or on the clinic’s staff.

Judge Klopfer scheduled a preliminary hearing and bail review for Jan. 30.