Updated: Mon, April 29, 12:44 p.m.
It’s not often that the victims of white-collar crimes get paid back in full. Plus interest.
But that was the case on April 18 when a Santa Barbara judge ordered Adam Pirozzi, a former property manager convicted of embezzlement, to pay $1.3 million in restitution to his victims. He’d stolen approximately half that amount ― around $650,000 ― from the owners of the properties he supervised.
Pirozzi, 42, was also ordered to pay $1.1 million in fines to the court, serve five years of probation, and spend 30 days in jail. He had previously pleaded no contest to two felony counts of “embezzlement by a real estate broker” and surrendered his real estate license.
The rare, full recovery of funds was owed to prosecutors freezing Pirozzi’s assets the moment they filed criminal charges against him in 2021. Those assets included multiple bank accounts and property investments, including an office building on De la Vina Street.
Oftentimes, explained lead prosecutor Casey Nelson, white-collar criminals facing charges will quickly liquidate everything they own to avoid paying back victims and the hefty penalties. “A lot of these white-collar guys are predators all the way,” he said.
The California law Nelson utilized to put Pirozzi’s money and properties on ice is an “invaluable tool to recover funds,” he said, a tool the District Attorney’s Office uses often. Prosecutors recently cited it to secure $1.4 million in restitution for the embezzlement victims of Manuel “Ed” Torres, a former deputy probation officer who oversaw the department’s union accounts. They also used it in the ongoing matter of Craig Case, a private investigator and TV personality accused of grand theft and fraud.
According to Nelson, Pirozzi started amassing his stolen wealth in 2019 by diverting money from his clients’ trust accounts ― which held rent payments, security deposits, and owner contributions ― to a fund only he controlled. He then used the money for his own investments.
In a separate but related civil matter, Pirozzi remains in settlement talks with former business partner and major Santa Barbara landholder Ed St. George over the potential sale of his home in Hope Ranch. He will begin serving his jail sentence next month.
Nelson thanked DA investigator Kristin Shamordola for her legwork in the case, including definitively linking Pirozzi to his properties, which he had hidden behind a maze of LLCs. His management company, AMP Core, Inc., operated under several fictitious business names.
Nelson said his office would continue acting quickly when necessary to freeze assets so defendants don’t dodge responsibility. “It speaks to the DA’s Office being able to conduct its own investigations and get on the ground early,” he said.
In large cities like Los Angeles, he explained, suspects are often able to purge their assets in the time it takes police detectives to submit their report and prosecutors to formally file charges.
Correction: This story previously stated Pirozzi lost his home in Hope Ranch amid the criminal proceedings against him. He in fact retains ownership of the property, though its potential sale remains part of ongoing settlement negotiations in the civil matter.
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