Ruby Burch, a Sierra County resident and victim of a 2017 theft case, recently received the final installment of her restitution from the defendant, Brian Timothy Davis. Sheriff’s Deputy, Malcom Fadden, was there to mark the occasion on behalf of the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office, and present Ms. Burch with her final check.
This case first came to the attention of the Sheriff’s Office in 2017 when Ms. Burch reported to investigators that she had been scammed by a company called, 1st Financial Alliance, a company later discovered to be a shell corporation out of Orlando, Florida, targeting elderly victims across the country.
Through a months-long investigation, a case was built against the company owner, Brian Timothy Davis. The investigation revealed that Davis defrauded approximately 20 other victims across the country in an amount totaling $150,000. A Sierra County detective was able to learn the identity of three additional victims; each victim was contacted by the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office.
The success of this case was due to the dedicated, hard work of Sierra County Sheriff’s Office investigators and the Sierra County District Attorney, Sandra Groven.
The suspect in the case, Brian Timothy Davis, of Florida, pleaded guilty to violating Penal Code section 487 (grand theft). As part of his sentence, he was ordered to return the money taken from Ms. Burch, a total of $14,700, in addition to jail time.
“It is important to me that justice also serves to restore to our vulnerable community members what has been taken from them,” said Sierra County District Attorney, Sandra Groven.
The investigation spanned three years and culminated when an arrest warrant was issued for the defendant. The defendant was arrested in October of 2019 in Orange County, Florida. Given the unique situation, Sheriff Mike Fisher arranged to have the defendant extradited to Sierra County to be held accountable to his victim.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind residents to safeguard their personal information and to be extremely cautious with solicitations for your personal information by email, telephone, or mail.
