Wrong Eva Perez Delays Ponzi Hearing

The case of three women accused of operating a two-year Ponzi scheme based in Diamond Bar was postponed Thursday after the court called in the wrong Eva Perez for trial.

Eva Perez, 51, faces 22 felony charges in the case and is currently serving an 11-year sentence in San Bernardino County after being convicted of a similar scheme, but prosecutors got a surprise Thursday when the bailiff had called up the wrong Eva Perez from state prison.

Judge Wade Olson confirmed Thursday in the Pomona courtroom that the date of birth and inmate numbers did not match the Eva Perez to be tried alongside co-defendants Juliana Menefee, 50, and Maricela Torres, 41.

The three were scheduled for arraignment Thursday. That hearing has been postponed to Sept. 7 in the interest of keeping the three defendants together for trial, Olson said.

Torres has posted bail and to await the Sept. 7 hearing. Menefee, who was still in police custody Thursday, was granted a reduction in bail from $590,000 to $250,000.

Correction: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Menefee's bail had been lowered to $25,000.

During Thursday's hearing, the judge chided Menefee for searching for familiar faces in the audience as he explained the reason for postponing the next hearing.

Deputy District Attorney James Belna, who filed the arrest warrant for the trio, said each faces up to 13 years in state prison if convicted of running the scheme investigators said brought in around $14 million and lost up to $4 million from "investors."

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