Newport Beach woman pleads guilty in theft scheme

A Newport Beach woman pleaded guilty to receiving $615,000 in stolen funds and is expected to be sentenced to six months home confinement, according to court records obtained Wednesday.

Misty Denise Touchard, 48, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony count of receiving stolen property. As part of her plea deal, 68 other felony counts of grand theft and money laundering were dismissed along with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime in excess of $500,000 and property damage in excess of $3.2 million, according to court records. Touchard is scheduled to be sentenced May 30 of next year.

Her husband, co-defendant Ronald Cedric Touchard, 64, is awaiting trial.

The couple were charged in 2018 with orchestrating a real estate fraud scheme that bilked lenders out of more than $5.9 million.

According to prosecutors, Ronald Touchard filed phony documents in Delaware claiming to be the sole officer of a Laguna Beach investment company called Capital Win Corp. and Gainquick LLC, then took over the titles of three Newport Beach homes that the company owned.

Touchard allegedly convinced three lenders that he held the deed on the homes as the president of the investment company, and he was able to obtain equity loans of $5.9 million. He and his wife are accused of using the money to make large purchases, including a Land Rover. Some of the money was used to invest in a winery, prosecutors said.

The couple also allegedly moved the money among various bank accounts in an effort to avoid detection, prosecutors said. They also would make purchases in cash to avoid detection, prosecutors said.