A woman on California’s Central Coast was sentenced Tuesday after being convicted of real estate fraud and scamming several victims out of more than $1 million, including her friends and acquaintances, prosecutors said.
Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni’s office announced that 36-year-old Esmeralda Hernandez Pulido of Salinas received a sentence of three years and four months in jail. Hernandez Pulido was convicted of four counts of felony theft.
Prosecutors said Hernandez Pulido defrauded at least five victims by claiming she needed cash for the down payment of a home, promising each of them that they would be in the first position on the deed. Hernandez Pulido collected an amount described by prosecutors as “well in excess of the value of the house” and provided none of the return that was promised.
“By lying to each victim about…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.