Accused Real Estate Agent in Ponzi Scheme Does Not Enter Plea

The former Campbell real estate agent charged with grand theft, forgery and false recordation did not enter a plea on Sept. 11 but will be back in court Oct. 30.

Jill Silvey, 51, was arrested on June 27 in her San Jose home on charges she defrauded or falsely used identities of 27 individuals between 2005 and 2011. She is accused of stealing $1.214 million by asking investors to loan money to borrowers who could not qualify for traditional loans.

"Ms. Silvey has not entered a plea, as Paul Colin explained, this is not unusual in a case with a large volume of discovery," said Deputy District Attorney Kathy Wells.

The case has exchanged hands recently with former Deputy District Attorney Paul Colin moving on to become a Superior Court Judge and Wells taking over.

"Paul Colin was elected to the Santa Clara County Superior Court and will be taking the bench soon," Wells said. "All of his cases have been reassigned to me."

Silvey's attorney had asked to waive her appearance for the Sept. 11 court date since the matter was being continued, but Wells said that she asked that Silvey be brought out.

According to Colin, Silvey would forge the names of supposed borrowers to create fake loan documents and deeds in order to convince investors that their money was secured by an interest in each fictitious borrower's real estate. 

Several of the victims are at least 65 years of age, so several elder fraud counts are included in the charges, Colin said. 

"She was taking one person’s money and delivering it to another," Colin said. "It's what we call a Ponzi Scheme. There’s no real investment." 

Court documents also suggest there may be additional victims and Wells verified this. 

"We do anticipate filing an amended complaint adding additional charges," she said. "However, those charges are currently under investigation."

Along with these additional charges, Wells said that she will be petitioning the case to move to an early resolution calendar at the next court date.

"We are hoping to make that request at the next court date," she said. "However, there are often delays in a criminal case, especially a complex case such as this, before everyone is ready for full discussions."

If convicted, Silvey faces up to 31 years in prison. Her next Santa Clara County Superior Court date is Oct. 30, 2:00 p.m. in department 23. 

D.A. Investigator Jodi Thomas is investigating the case. Anyone with information is invited to contact Thomas at 408-792-2928 or jthomas@da.sccgov.org.

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