FORMER VALENCIA COUPLE PLEAD NO CONTEST IN ESCROW THEFT.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

In a case that marks one of the largest failures of an independent escrow company in the state, the former owners of the Valencia-based Country Oaks Escrow Co. pleaded no contest this week to the misuse of more than $2.7 million in company trust funds, authorities said Tuesday.

Harold Wiener, 53, on Monday pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Superior Court to grand theft of the escrow trust fund and admitted he embezzled between $2.7 million and $2.8 million from his trust fund account, said Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Showers.

He also pleaded no contest to signing a false 1992 tax return, officials said.

Wiener's wife, Kathy, 48, also pleaded no contest to the unauthorized disbursement of escrow funds and to giving misstatements and omitting information in an escrow document, Showers said.

The couple is scheduled to be sentenced April 15.

Harold Wiener, controller of the now-defunct company, faces up to five years in state prison. His wife, who was the company's licensee, faces two years because she was less responsible for the company's finances, Showers said.

From June 1990 to May 1993, the husband-wife team deposited trust money into a general fund from which they financed general operations as well as personal expenses, Showers said.

``We were able to track the money into their personal account,'' she said. ``It was an organized practice that went on in the business.''

The account included funds from hundreds of home buyers and sellers as deposits for houses being sold, Showers said.

The Wieners illegally used the funds to make their own house payments, as well as pay for beachfront property in San Diego, along with car loans and personal credit card bills, the prosecutor said.

The Wieners, who have no prior criminal records, agreed to pay back the more than $2.7 million to Escrow Agents Fidelity Corp., which paid out $1 million of the trust account funds, and $1.7 million to Fidelity's carrier, National Union Insurance.

The two companies covered escrow accounts affected when the company was shut down by authorities.

The Wieners also owe about $135,000 in back taxes from 1992 and 1993, Showers said.

Regulators with the state's Department of Corporations seized the couple's escrow company in June 1993, after receiving a call from a Country Oaks Escrow Co. official who said $2 million was missing from its accounts. The total loss was later placed at more than $2.7 million.

Hundreds of home buyers and sellers had deposits and other funds frozen for months while investigators probed company paperwork. All the losses were later repaid by the insurers.

The company's closure also left 105 employees without work and their pensions and others benefits, officials said.

Burrow Escrow, based in Santa Ana, was immediately hired to takeover the failed escrow company, which still operates in Valencia.

Jeff Karpel, Harold Wiener's attorney, will ask the judge to give his client the minimum sentence, which is felony probation, meaning that he must show that he is employed and meeting certain court conditions.

``I think (Harold Wiener) is pleased with the outcome,'' Karpel said from his Century City office Tuesday. ``By putting him in jail and asking the state to pay the fees, it is not going to be productive for any side.''

The Wieners moved from their Placerita Canyon home in Newhall to Salt Lake City shortly after the escrow company closed. Harold Wiener is not currently employed, Karpel said. However, his wife has since worked as a consultant in the real estate field in their hometown.

Wiener underwent a heart transplant in 1989, and Tuesday had his thumb amputated because of circulation problems, Karpel said.

``I'm sure (his health) will be an issue in the sentencing,'' Showers said.