Woman pleads not guilty to charges of fraudulent sales

A San Clemente woman has pleaded not guilty to participating in a scam to bilk $3 million from Marines seeking to buy homes in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and other Orange County cities, officials with the Orange County district attorney’s office said.

Evelyn Corina Oberhuber was charged with fraud, forgery and filing false documents, in an alleged scam to sell foreclosed homes to families of soldiers who had served in the Iraq war. Oberhuber is accused of falsifying bills of sale and forging quitclaim deeds. Authorities said no homes were actually bought or sold but many buyers were led to believe they had become homeowners, according to wire reports.

Oberhuber is married to a Marine and was once honored for her volunteer work at Camp Pendleton.

The investigation reportedly began when buyers called police in November, saying they had been defrauded. At least a dozen are Marines stationed in Iraq or at Camp Pendleton, where Oberhuber’s husband is a staff sergeant.

Oberhuber, who in 2002 was among 35 volunteers who received awards for aiding Camp Pendleton families, worked as a paralegal at a Santa Ana law firm, according to reports.