Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
Craig Case, a private investigator and former host of a local television show, was arrested outside the Santa Barbara Superior Courthouse on Tuesday morning.
The warrant stems from accusations that Case embezzled nearly $700,000 from an elderly Montecito woman between 2018 and 2021.
Right before his arrest, Case was in the courtroom for separate charges related to forgery and identity theft concerning his investigative business, Case Detective Agency.
The charges stem from Case being pulled over for a traffic violation with a search of his vehicle yielding a loaded gun and a concealed carry permit issued by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The Santa Barbara Police Department stated that one signature of Sheriff Bill Brown was forged on the permit.
He was then charged with four felonies relating to identity theft and false evidence as well as an additional misdemeanor for carrying a loaded handgun.
The hearing focused on how to alter Case’s ability to continue his work in security and private investigation at Case Detective Agency where he may have access to buildings and sensitive material while facing felony charges. Judge Kathleen Diesman ordered Case to relinquish the supervision of his business to another person by July 17.
While leaving the courtroom, Case was approached by investigators with the County District Attorney’s Office and agreed to cooperate.
A civil suit was filed in 2021 against Case for allegedly embezzling $687,500 from a 94-year-old Montecito resident Constance McCormick Fearing in the form of short term loans that were never paid back.
Case previously self-produced a local television show titled the “Inn Crowd” which aired on KEYT where he would feature winemakers and tastings, cooking demonstrations, and well-known chefs. He also previously held key roles with the Santa Barbara Police Foundation, United Boys & Girls Club, Santa Barbara City College’s board of directors, and chairman of the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Commission.
In 2016, Case was also forced by a class-action lawsuit to pay $80,000 to former employees of his security company. That same year infamous local landlord Dario Pini also took Case to court for failing to pay back a $10,000 loan. In 2019, Case borrowed $50,000 from winemaker Roger Bower which he also did not pay, according to The Independent.
Case will remain in jail with a bail set at $200,000 and is expected to be back in court on Thursday, July 13, for the embezzlement charges and will return to court on July 31 for the forgery charges.
My wife and I hired Case almost 15 years ago to search for amilling relative. We paid him at retainer. For months , we never heard a peep out of him and after that it was excuse after excuse. We finally contacted the PI 0ffice in Sacramento and lo and behold, shortly after he sent us afull payment check. Crimes against seniors are also being fueled own crooks and by the far too many foreign criminals from Eastern Europe being let into our country. White collar crime is their specialty. If itsounds to good to be true-it ain’t! Stay alert and watch over your elderly family members because the legal system cannot.
What goes arround….
He is all hat and no cattle
Scumbag.
Maybe PI means “pathetic individual”.
I used to occasionally watch his show “the Inn Crowd” and thought what a pretentious blowhard. Sometimes gut reactions are valid. You know you’re a clown when you’re stealing money from Pini! So ironic that a guy who is a private detective is such a damn crook. But oh, wait he hasn’t been proven guilty yet…
What a joker.
LOL, I doubt he’s well connected enough for that play!
And you’re another one, who still can’t figure out how to use the Reply button.
Maybe he will go with the Hunter Biden defense to fight the firearm charges.
https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/hunter-biden-supreme-court-second-amendment-guns-drugs-bruen-rcna87438
“it’s already dead”
Indeed. That article was written before HB pleaded guilty. There was no such “Hunter Biden defense”–it was speculation by the author that he might use such a defense, but he didn’t. On the contrary, he admitted to illegally owning a gun while a drug user.
Stop beating the horse, it’s already dead
He has been a phony for decades but got away with it by bullying and bluster and contacts with the police and DA which he bandied about as proof of his insider status. It is possible that those whom he showed off were not aware of their manipulation but most seemed to enjoy being in this creep’s circle. Can you imagine what would happen if we actually looked back on the investigation work he did to see how much was BS?
Who’s taking over the business?
His name is dirtier than dirt. I hope he gets locked up, promptly.
“Case has been successfully sued no fewer than 26 times since 1978 by former clients, employees, and lenders. He received his private investigator license from the state in 1979, which remains active.”
https://www.independent.com/2022/05/16/private-investigator-craig-case-charged-with-forging-gun-permit/
“He also previously held key roles with the Santa Barbara Police Foundation, United Boys & Girls Club, Santa Barbara City College’s board of directors, and chairman of the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Commission.”
Another well connected local criminal.
Whoops, I posted to an old thread (blush)
His arrest was filmed
(they wanted to arrest him at court because he’d been through the metal detector there; they were sure he was unarmed)
It may be petty of me to post this, but if anyone deserves to be shamed…
https://keyt.com/news/2023/07/11/private-investigator-craig-case-is-arrested-outside-of-santa-barbara-superior-court-as-multiple-charges-mount/