Jill Silvey sat before the judge this afternoon, her hair pulled back into a pony tail, face looking straight ahead, expressionless.
Silvey, 51, was arrested on June 27 in her San Jose home on charges she defrauded or falsely used identities of more than 20 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.
She appeared in Santa Clara County Superior Court Oct. 30, where the judge continued the case to Nov. 19, 9:00 a.m. in Dept. 30.
"This is a huge case in terms of the amount of evidence," said Deputy District Attorney Kathy Wells.
Wells has filed an amended complaints, adding alleged victims to the total count, though that number is not public record yet.
The judge will hear the evidence in the case on Nov. 19 and will make a decision on how much time Silvey should serve and restitution to be made, Wells said. If Silvey does not accept the decision, the case will move on to a preliminary hearing and then to trial. But because of the number of named victims, dollar amount and number of evidence, the judge may move to meet a second time to discuss the matter further, Wells said.
"Financial crimes in general are voluminous in terms of the financial records there are to investigate," she said.
According to court documents, 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 named victims are at least 65 years of age, so elderly financial abuse counts are included in the charges, which will add a sentence enhancement, Wells said.
As for the $1.2 million that Silvey is alleged to have stolen, restitution will be ordered by the judge if/when she's convinced, Wells said.
"But the money may not be readily available," she says.
Once convicted, there will also be a civil judgement that can be enforced through garnished wages and liens on private property such as any homes Silvey may still own.
"Of course, if (she) is in prison, it's not likely," Wells said.
Silvey's next Santa Clara County Superior Court date is Nov. 19, 9:00 a.m. in department 30.
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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