A Change of Heart by Alleged Victim : Woman Says Man Accused of Charming Her and Two Others Out of Money ‘Paid Me Back’

An alleged victim of James Robert Borzynski, who is accused of charming three Orange County women out of their bank accounts, said Tuesday she now believes in him and wants to see him go free.

“I loaned (Borzynski) money as a friend,” said the 29-year-old restaurant hostess, who wanted to be identified only as Sarah, her first name. She gave Borzynski about $1,500. “He paid me back. I don’t consider myself a victim and I’m going to ask to be taken off the list as those who were victimized.”

However, Sarah’s unexpected change of heart angered another purported victim, Yvonne Tovar, 27, of Huntington Beach, who, like Sarah, went to Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel on Tuesday to watch her former boyfriend during a bail hearing.

“I’m definitely glad that he’s behind bars,” Tovar said outside of court. “But I’m so hurt and angry at Sarah. She’s doing this because he’s trying to make her believe that he’ll go back to her.”

Sarah said: “All I can say is, (Tovar’s) got her side of the story and I have mine.”

Although Sarah wants to be dropped from the case, Deputy Dist. Atty. Joe D’Agostino said Tuesday that won’t weaken the prosecution because half a dozen new potential victims have contacted his office.

Last week, Borzynski, 45, pleaded not guilty to three counts of grand theft before Municipal Judge Ronald P. Kreber. On Tuesday, Kreber denied the prosecutor’s attempt to raise Borzynski’s $50,000 bail and allowed a relative from Northern California to post bond.

Borzynski was later released, pending a Dec. 21 preliminary hearing to determine whether there’s enough evidence to make him stand trial in Superior Court. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of five years and four months, D’Agostino said.

Police contend Borzynski’s alleged victims were women who looked for companionship and romance in classified ads. According to investigators, the defendant told the women he was a recently widowed lawyer and promised them love, marriage and a life together.

But after a few dates, he allegedly told them how he needed money because the Internal Revenue Service was demanding back taxes and threatening him with arrest. The alleged victims included Sarah of Fullerton; Tovar, an apartment manager; and a recently widowed Lake Forest woman who shelled out $51,000 from her savings, the prosecutor said.

After Borzynski got their money, he disappeared, police said.

“The amount he took was about $100,000 from Orange County women, and about another $50,000 from six out-of-county victims,” D’Agostino said.

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Borzynski’s attorney, Gregory W. Jones, conceded Tuesday his client had falsely told these women he was a lawyer. But “they gave him the money with no strings attached or expectations,” Jones said.

Borzynski has returned about $2,700 to Tovar and Sarah, according to Jones. He added that although the prosecutor mentioned alleged victims elsewhere, police agencies in other counties chose not to file charges against Borzynski in those cases.

“He’s not guilty of grand theft, because to prove it you have to have a misrepresentation,” Jones said. “That is, make someone a promise or lead someone to believe they will get their money back. He misrepresented his identity to make himself appear as a ‘real catch,’ and that’s all. There were no promissory notes signed.”

The third alleged victim, Joan Norton of Lake Forest, “told us she viewed her $51,000 as an investment to the future,” Jones said.

Sarah said Tuesday that during her relationship with Borzynski, he “put his cards right on the table.” Although he used a different name, Robert Wyatt, he told her he wasn’t an attorney, she said.

She initially cooperated with police because “I was mad. He told me he was not going to marry me and I didn’t like being rejected.”

The strange case took another twist Tuesday, when John Peter Ashley of San Mateo told the court he was Borzynski’s brother and that he was present to post bail. While the judge set bail, the brother’s different last name concerned the prosecutor, who engaged in a long private discussion with Ashley after the hearing.

“Mr. Ashley told me that 30 years ago he changed his name from that of his brother’s to Ashley because of a marriage,” D’Agostino said. “What I found interesting, is that the defendant has used 17 different aliases in the past including one of Jason Ashley.”

D’Agostino has not decided whether to exclude Sarah from the list of alleged victims. But he could call her as a witness and also use her original testimony she gave against Borzynski to police.

He believes her turnabout indicates how suspects can use people who are emotionally vulnerable.

“I think she’s a good example of how dangerous a scam like this is,” D’Agostino said. “It feeds on people who are emotionally vulnerable, who become so willing and so trusting.”

Sheriff’s investigator Cliff Deller said the common thread among the female victims was their loneliness.

“They all had one thing in common,” Deller said. “They wanted to be somebody special in somebody’s life.”