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VENTURA : Insurance Agent Gets 2 Years for Fraud

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A Ventura insurance agent who used his business to defraud an elderly woman out of more than $70,000 was sentenced Friday to two years in prison.

Terry J. Alderete, 50, was sentenced on his guilty plea to residential burglary, a charge based on the theory that he entered the victim’s home with the intent to commit a felony.

The charge carries a mandatory prison term. Superior Court Judge James M. McNally said he chose the lowest possible sentence because Alderete has never been incarcerated before and any time in prison will be “a nightmare” for him.

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Alderete was charged with burglary and grand theft after he persuaded a 64-year-old Ventura woman to give him $71,000 to purchase an insurance annuity. Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeff G. Bennett said Alderete did not purchase the annuity, instead using the money for personal expenses.

Eventually, Alderete bought a $30,000 annuity for the woman so police would not suspect any wrongdoing, Bennett said. The total monetary loss for the woman was about $45,000, McNally concluded.

The victim, Darlene Songer, addressed the court during the sentencing hearing, saying the crime has affected her physically and emotionally, as well as financially.

“It’s a great injustice preying on a senior citizen,” said the partly disabled Songer, who added that she lost 40 pounds because of the ordeal.

Defense attorney Bruce Holmes had sought a two-week postponement of the sentencing so Alderete could obtain a loan from his mother and repay Songer. McNally refused the request because there was no commitment from the mother to make the money available and Alderete had failed to come up with the funds during the two months he awaited sentencing.

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