Judge denies lower bail for Fresno man accused of stealing luxury cars, boats and homes

A Fresno County judge has refused to lower the bail amount for a Fresno man accused of running a lucrative theft ring that netted him luxury vehicles, homes and boats.

Marcos Garza Jr, 36, was in court Friday for his arraignment on 35 criminal charges that include conspiracy to commit identity theft, grand theft auto, and aggravated white color crime.

Also charged in the scheme are his alleged accomplices: his girlfriend Ana Ramirez, 36, his mother, Laura Mora, 52 and an acquaintance, Olivia Rodriguez, 55.

Mora and Ramirez are scheduled to appear for their arraignment on Jan. 24; Rodriguez remains at large.

Garza pleaded not guilty to the charges while his lawyer, Nicco Capozzi, requested that his client’s $415,000 bail be reduced.

Capozzi argued that Garza can’t afford the nearly half a million dollar bail, saying a bail amount of $100,00 is more reasonable.

Capozzi told Judge Samuel Dalesandro that Garza’s sister, Mishale Mora, is trying to raise the bail money by working extra hours at her job. She spoke briefly before the judge, crying as she answered questions.

Prosecutor Kyle McPherson asked her whether she has spoken to her brother and mother about the case. She said no.

“My mom is not really talking right now. She just sits in her car and cries,” the sister said.

McPherson said to the judge that Garza is still too great of a risk to public safety, given the extent of his alleged fraud schemes.

McPherson said Garza and his accomplices used the personal identifying information of three victims to buy four Range Rovers, one Audi A8, two sport boats and two boat trailers, totaling $459,032.

The District Attorney’s Office also alleges Garza and Ramirez used the personal identifying information of one of their victims to rent several houses, resulting in a loss to the property owner of $54,102.

The judge agreed that Garza’s alleged crimes are substantial, saying given opportunity he may return to committing more crimes.

If convicted, Garza and Ramirez face a 24-year and eight-month prison sentence. Mora faces a sentencie of eight years in prison and Rodriguez faces a sentence of four years and four months in county jail.

Alleged alias

Detectives became aware of Garza after he bought a $115,000 boat using someone else’s financial information. During the investigation detectives with Fresno H.E.A.T. (Help Eliminate Auto Theft) discovered Garza operated under an alias of Jay Mora and acted as a financial specialist who could help people in repairing their credit.

One of Garza’s alleged victims was pleased to hear Friday that he was arrested and may be sent to prison. She knew Garza as Junior Mora in 2018 when he operated JMora Consultant Services in Fresno.

Melissa Olivarria was 21 years old at the time and struggling with bad credit. A friend told her about Mora’s company and how he could fix her credit for a fee.

Olivarria told The Fresno Bee she found Garza on the internet and communicated with him electronically. Olivarria says she paid him $2,500 and he vowed to fix her credit.

She had recently enlisted in the Army and was due to be shipped out for a three-year deployment in Afghanistan. When she returned, she hoped her credit issues would be taken care of.

But she says those issues remained and she could no longer find Garza, or his company. “He became a ghost at that point,” she said. “To this day, I still don’t think I know what that man even looks like.”

Olivarria took Garza and JMora Consultant Services to small claims court and won a $2,630 judgment against him on May 24, 2018.

“I know I am never going to see a penny of that money back,” she said.