Crisp & Cole: Nine of 10 defendants appear in court, eight released from custody
BY JOHN COX, Californian staff writer jcox@bakersfield.com
Nine of 10 defendants named in the Crisp & Cole mortgage fraud indictment unsealed Friday pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. The one exception was real estate executive David Crisp, whose arraignment before a U.S. magistrate judge was scheduled for Monday.
Eight of the nine who entered pleas Friday were released on their own recognizance on various conditions, including a requirement that they appear before a U.S. district judge for a status conference at 9 a.m. Feb. 11 in Fresno.
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FBI agents escort Julie Dianne Farmer, center, from her arraignment Friday in Bakersfield, at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 18th Street.
FBI agents escort Sneha Ramesh Mohammadi, from her arraignment Friday at U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 18th Street in Bakersfield.
FBI agents escort Jeriel Salinas from U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 18th Street in downtown Bakersfield Friday evening after his arraignment.
FBI agents escort Michael Angelo Munoz, from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in downtown Bakersfield, Friday after his arraignment.
FBI agents escort Jayson Peter Costa, from U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 18th Street in Bakersfield after his arraignment.
FBI agents escort Julie Dianne Farmer, center, from her arraignment Friday in Bakersfield, at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 18th Street.
FBI agents escort Jeriel Salinas from U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 18th Street in downtown Bakersfield Friday evening after his arraignment.
FBI agents escort Caleb Lee Cole from U.S. Bankruptcy Court Friday after his arraignment.
FBI agents escort Sneha Ramesh Mohammadi from her arraignment Friday at U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 18th Street in Bakersfield.
FBI agents escort Michael Angelo Munoz, left, and Jayson Peter Costa from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in downtown Bakersfield, Friday after their arraignment.
FBI agents escort Caleb Lee Cole from U.S. Bankruptcy Court Friday after his arraignment.
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The one defendant who pleaded not guilty but was not released from custody, Jayson Peter Costa, was scheduled to appear for a detention hearing Tuesday in Fresno. Costa worked as a loan officer with Crisp, Cole and Associates, the once high-flying Bakersfield agency with which all the defendants were associated or worked as employees. No explanation was given publicly as to why Costa was not released.
For Costa and five other defendants -- Caleb Lee Cole, Julie Dianne Farmer, Sneha Ramesh Mohammadi, Michael Angelo Munoz and Jeriel Salinas -- Friday's court proceedings took place before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 18th Street in downtown Bakersfield. The other four defendants were arrested outside of Kern County, and so their court appearances were to take place elsewhere.
At least two dozen friends and associates of the defendants, many of them looking somber and hugging, attended the mid-afternoon arraignment at the Bakersfield bankruptcy court.
Afterward, David Crisp's father, Dan -- who had attended the arraignment even though his son was not present -- said he thought the proceedings "were very fair."
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