A Valley Center man accused of stealing millions of dollars in property from his foster mother while she was dying of cancer appeared in court this week as prosecutors laid out their case.

Valley Center

A San Diego court heard allegations against Cedric Von Ferdinand, a former foster son and caretaker of Nadine Jett, and Raymond Alto, a notary, regarding suspected financial crimes involving Jett's estate. Prosecutors allege that Von Ferdinand and Alto forged Jett's signature on a power of attorney and three quitclaim deeds, transferring ownership of her properties in San Diego and Los Angeles counties. 

The two men face a total of 41 charges, including forgery, identity theft, and property theft, with Alto also charged with perjury. Von Ferdinand's defense maintains that all actions were legal and in accordance with Jett's wishes. Neither man faces charges related to Jett's death, which remains under investigation with the cause undetermined.

Valley Center foster son appears in court for fraud charge

Yeah, I'm very shocked, um, Nadine would have never allowed this to happen. These four women spent Friday inside this San Diego courtroom listening and hearing what allegedly happened to their foster mom, Nadine Jett. They hadn't heard from their foster mom since December 2023. They say her caretaker, Cedric Von Ferdinand, who was another foster, told them she was too sick to see or speak with them. Then one day, called to say she had passed away. We believe the evidence will show as four documents where Ms. Jett's signature was forged on one power of attorney and three quitclaim deeds because Ms. Jett owned three properties, one in San Diego County in Valley Center, and two in Los Angeles County. Von Ferdinand and another man, Raymond Alto, who's a notary, are accused of executing alleged financial crimes regarding Jett. Court documents show the two men are facing 41 charges between them, ranging from forgery to identity theft and property theft, to name a few. The alleged crimes happened between January to July of last year. Alto was facing charges of perjury related to his duties as a notary. Von Ferdinand's defense attorney disagrees. There was no fraud at all in this case and there's no theft at all in the case because he carried out his mother's wishes and it's all legal. It may be a little irregular, but it's all legal. She was our mom and we were never after her assets, we were after her love and she just provided the best love for us. Jett's body was found in July, buried on her Valley Center property after law enforcement conducted a search. At the early stages of that search, I spoke with two of her foster daughters, Paris and Tiffany Lucci, who were in the courtroom today. They had told me she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He knew she was sick and kept isolating us from her, so I just have anger towards him and I'll never forgive him for what he did. Neither of the men is facing any charges related to Nadine Jett's death. The cause of the death is still undetermined. We're going to stand here and get justice for Nadine.

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Breakdown