SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Four Lucci sisters spent Friday inside a San Diego courtroom listening and hearing what allegedly happened to their foster mom, Nadine Jett.
"I'm very shocked. I mean, Nadine would have never allowed this to happen,” Paris Lucci, Jett’s loved one, said.
They hadn't heard from their foster mother since December of 2023. They say her caretaker, Cedric Von Ferdinand, who's another foster, told them she was too sick to see or speak with them, then one day called to say she had passed away.
"We believe that the evidence will show as four documents where Ms. Jett's signature was forged on one power of attorney and three quick claim deeds because Ms. Jett owned three properties. One in San Diego County, Valley Center, and two in Los Angeles County,” John Dunn of the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said during the preliminary hearing.
Von Ferdinand and another man, Raymond Alto, who's a notary, are accused of executing alleged financial crimes regarding Jett.
Court documents show the two men are facing 41 charges between them ranging from forgery to identity theft and property theft, to name a few. The alleged crimes happened between January to July 2024.
Alto is facing charges of perjury related to his duties as a notary.
Von Ferdinand’s defense attorney disagrees with the claims.
"There was no fraud at all in this case. And there's no theft at all in the case because he carried out his mother's wishes and it's all legal. It may be a little irregular. But, it's all legal,” Defense Attorney Kerry Steigerwalt said.
The defense attorney also tried to diminish the relationship the Lucci sisters had with Jett during the preliminary hearing.
“She was our mom, and we were never after her assets; we were after her love, and she just provided the best love for us,” Lucci said.
As we reported, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office announced in August that Jett's body was found buried on her Valley Center property after law enforcement conducted a search.
At the early stages of that search, ABC 10News spoke with two of her foster daughters - Paris and Tiffany Lucci- who were in court on Friday.
They had told ABC 10News she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
"He knew she was sick and kept isolating us from her so. I just have anger towards him and I, you know, I'll never forgive him for what he did,” Paris Lucci said.
Neither of the men is facing any charges related to Nadine Jett’s death.
The cause of death is still undetermined.
"But we're going to stand here and get justice for Nadine,” Bianca Lucci said.
