Valley Center man to stand trial in alleged fraud tied to foster mother’s death

The Hall of Justice in downtown San Diego Photo courtesy of the District Attorney s office The foster son of a Valley Center woman whose skeletal remains were unveiled buried on her ranch earlier this year was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on nearly three dozen felony counts related to the alleged fraudulent use of the woman s identity Cedric Von Ferdinand is accused of using -year-old Nadine Jett s identity to take hundreds of thousands of dollars from her bank account give himself power of attorney and transfer her properties to his name Von Ferdinand had been acting as a caregiver for Jett a retired attorney who was battling pancreatic cancer just before she went missing around late to early Her disappearance prompted sheriff s investigators to search her -acre Oak Creek Road property in July where they detected her buried remains Exactly how and when Jett died remains uncertain and no arrests have been made in connection with her death Tiffany Lucci one of four sisters for whom Jett was a foster mother was allegedly stated by Von Ferdinand that Jett died in Mexico around Easter of according to testimony from District Attorney s Office Investigator Mark Kelley James Horst another District Attorney s Office investigator commented a woman who formerly cared for animals on Jett s ranch was stated by Von Ferdinand in January of that her services would no longer be needed because Jett died about a week prior In the months that followed Von Ferdinand was given power of attorney through documents bearing Jett s apparent signature and initials Jett s ranch as well as two properties in Los Angeles County were transferred to him and Von Ferdinand also purchased another residence in Los Angeles County allegedly with money wired from Jett s bank account Prosecutors also allege Von Ferdinand siphoned thousands of dollars from Jett s accounts on a regular basis until about mid- Before Jett s body was discovered this year Kelley testified that investigators could not locate death certificates in either Mexico or the United States to corroborate Von Ferdinand s statements regarding Jett s death Lucci also explained investigators that the sisters tried to see Jett in person just before she disappeared but Von Ferdinand had reasons why they couldn t come Kelley testified Deputy District Attorney John Dunn argued His M O was to isolate Ms Jett and limit contact to her prior to her death Once she died start taking her money and her properties Von Ferdinand s attorneys have argued Jett willingly transferred her money and properties to Von Ferdinand The defense s incident included testimony from a legal assistant who declared she spoke with Jett over Zoom calls intended to facilitate transferring her properties to Von Ferdinand The legal assistant testified that though Jett looked frail she appeared aware of what she was doing Those Zoom calls also occurred after Jett s ex-employee was allegedly reported Jett had died Kerry Steigerwalt one of Von Ferdinand s attorneys commented the affair against his client was pushed onto the D A s Office by the Lucci sisters The attorney commented Jett didn t want to have anything to do with the girls as opposed to Von Ferdinand who quit his job in order to care for Jett full-time Also charged in the affair is Escondido-based notary general Raymond Joseph Alto who is accused of notarizing documents that prosecutors allege bore Jett s forged signature Next to Jett s purported signature in a notary journal belonging to Alto is a thumbprint that was later determined to be Von Ferdinand s Alto s defense attorney Angelo Reyes argued Von Ferdinand s thumbprint was used in part because Jett was too ill to provide it He also attributed it to Alto performing a rushed job in his notary duties The power of attorney document also featured the signature of Alto s brother who the document states appeared as a witness However Alto s brother denied to investigators that he signed the document a District Attorney s investigator testified Dunn also argued that another woman living at the Valley Center property saw Von Ferdinand sign and place his thumbprint on a document which he allegedly communicated her involved transferring the ranch to him The woman recounted investigators this occurred after Jett had died There s absolutely no logical reason or reasonable explanation other than fraud that it s his fingerprint there Dunn revealed Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez agreed with the prosecutor that the details taken together were indicative of fraud The judge highlighted the use of Von Ferdinand s thumbprint and bank records showcasing numerous transactions and purchases he allegedly made Regarding Alto Rodriguez explained she did not believe the discrepancies involving Von Ferdinand s thumbprint or his brother s allegedly forged signature were due to a rushed job but rather a deliberate decision on his part The judge declared It s sort of nonsensical to believe somebody was so ill that they couldn t put their thumbprint on something but they could sign multiple documents Rodriguez bound both Von Ferdinand and Alto over for trial Von Ferdinand is charged with nearly three dozen counts including forgery identity theft and grand theft while Alto faces eight counts to include perjury forgery and identity theft Both men remain out of custody