Investors Who Lost Millions Face Jailed Couple in Court

For the first time in 14 years, investors who authorities say were bilked out of millions of dollars on Wednesday set eyes on a onetime Pasadena developer and his wife who are charged with stealing from them before fleeing to an English country estate.

Stanley Seldon Sirotin, 73, and Alice Beryl Sirotin appeared briefly in Los Angeles Municipal Court. Their preliminary hearing on 15 felony charges, including five grand theft charges in the embezzlement of at least $4.2 million from investors in a Pasadena retail and office complex, was delayed until Wednesday. They have pleaded not guilty.

The Sirotins appeared in handcuffs and wore brown and blue County Jail uniforms. Authorities say that until they were arrested at Miami International Airport last month, the Sirotins lived in a large country home in England. Both are being held in County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail each.

The couple, who prosecutors say enriched themselves through a scheme involving offshore corporations and Swiss banks, appeared visibly alarmed as a prosecutor mentioned the name of one investor seated 15 yards from the Sirotins.

A handful of investors, some smiling, watched the proceedings. “We pay for our sins,” one investor told reporters. “I never thought I’d see this day.”