A woman who posed as a lawyer and defrauded 10 victims, including a Catholic charity, out of more than $57,000 was sentenced Friday to nearly 14 years behind bars.
Giuliana Bosco Huerta, 39, was convicted last month of multiple counts of grand theft, forgery and identity theft. She's been to prison twice before for fraud schemes.
According to Deputy District Attorney Hector Jimenez, Bosco built "an aura of credibility" by using made-up State Bar member numbers and impersonating other people when sending emails to her victims.
Some of the emails were sent while she was out on bail following her arrest last year, the prosecutor said.
"This woman is a pathological liar," Jimenez said outside court. "She scammed people of all walks of life. She didn't care who she stole money from. She stole it from Catholic charities, she stole it from her employer, she stole it from her supposed friends, her loved ones. She's simply a pathological liar. She needed to be put away for as long as possible."
Jimenez told Judge Laura Halgren that he was concerned that Bosco will repeat her criminal behavior once she is freed in about six years.
"We know, the day you get out, you're going to do it again," the prosecutor told the defendant.
A tearful Bosco apologized for her actions before she was sentenced.
"I never intended for any of this to happen," she said.
Halgren noted that Bosco seemed more sorry for herself than her victims, calling the defendant "manipulative and conniving."
Among other things, Bosco was convicted of stealing more than $40,000 from Melvin Fredrick after telling him she would set up a trust for his child and a license for his bakery business.
In 2005, the defendant and former attorney Marc Levin defrauded friends and family members out of $500,000 by claiming to need money for what turned out to be made-up medical emergencies, according to the prosecutor.
In 2010, Bosco pleaded guilty to burglary in another scam, and in 2011, she was convicted of stealing from a law firm where she worked, the prosecutor said.
Because she is a non-violent offender, Bosco will serve her prison sentence in county jail.
