Bettie Lois Cain waved goodbye to her girlfriend and friends before she was handcuffed and went to jail after she won a delay in her fraud sentencing.
Two attorneys for Cain, 68, of Normal Heights, won the delay in sentencing until April 9, but San Diego Superior Court Judge Charles Gill and the prosecutor expressed concern she was still committing fraud while free.
Cain waived her right to have a speedy sentencing. She remains in Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility without bail. One attorney, James Pokorny, told the judge she has “serious health issues.”
Cain pleaded guilty Jan. 8 to grand theft auto and four counts of writing bad checks for renting property on closed bank accounts for a defunct business she ran in North Park. She faces a maximum term of four years and eight months in prison.
The two defense attorneys said they had a report of a third case being filed against Cain and wanted more time to prepare for sentencing. They did not want Cain jailed immediately.
Deputy District Attorney Ted Fiorito opposed the delay, saying “she has victimized many people” and a third case indicates she was continuing the fraud. Two victims showed up in court, but after talking with Fiorito, they didn’t speak out since the sentencing was delayed.
Cain has a history in North Park with starting coffeehouses or other businesses and not paying some of her employees. She has been sued 35 times in the last 12 years and served several prison terms for forgery and fraud.
The total loss to all victims as part of her guilty pleas comes to $13,531.66, according to court records. Cain posted $85,000 bond after five felony counts were filed against her last April.
A second case was filed against her for writing checks with insufficient funds for more rental property. Records say Cain deposited a counterfeit check in her bank account that closed her account.
Cain rented a vacation property for three weeks for $1,533 and wrote a business check with a closed bank account. In her guilty plea, she admitted to writing a check for $4,058.66 to Vespa Motorsport with another defunct business check that bounced.
She opened Just A Cuppa Coffee in 2000 on 30th Street, but workers complained she didn’t pay them before the business abruptly closed. Local gay artists had paintings on the walls that were for sale, and those paintings vanished. A review on Yelp makes the same accusation about workers not being paid in Cain’s nursery and gardening business in 2011.
Her last prison sentence, 16 months, was imposed in 2007 for auto theft and forgery. She has prior convictions for grand larceny, grand theft and fraud.
Thanks for being another embarrassment to our community