Couple Sentenced to Prison in Escrow Embezzlement Case
Closing the book on one of the largest embezzlement cases in California history, a judge sentenced a Newhall couple to state prison Wednesday and ordered them to pay more than $2.7 million in restitution for stealing money from their family-run escrow firm.
Harold and Katherine Wiener faced as much five years in prison each for illegally funneling millions from their Country Oaks Escrow.
After a hotly contested sentencing hearing Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl sentenced Harold Wiener to four years in prison and his wife to two years.
In addition, the judge ordered the couple to repay $2,705,821 to escrow agents, Fidelity Corp. and National Union Fire Insurance.
Harold Wiener, 53, pleaded guilty in January to filing a false tax return and no contest to unauthorized disbursements from an escrow trust account. Katherine Wiener, 48, pleaded guilty to making misstatements or omissions on escrow papers and no contest to unauthorized disbursement from an escrow trust account.
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