Hector Porrata died on July 22, 2023. It was a Wednesday. He was 59 years old. He was born on April 27th 1964. He had been in the Marines during his early career. Then, he got into claims adjusting. He started most likely as a workers’ compensation claims adjuster in 1986 at CDS of California... Read More
AIG/Matrix Accused Embezzler, Cara Cruz-Thompson, Waives Preliminary Hearing. District Attorney Conjoins.
Cara Cruz-Thompson and her new attorney, Brian Gurwitz, started off the morning yesterday, January 5th 2010, with a bang just minutes after being back on the record in Orange County Court House Room C-53 with the Honorable Elaine Streger. Gurwitz asserted Cara’s position that she will waive all her rights to a Preliminary Hearing and choose... Read More
AIG/Matrix Embezzlement Defendant Cara Cruz-Thompson Hires New Attorney. Court Agrees to Waiver Preliminary Hearing Until January 5th 2010.
Cara Cruz-Thompson, in a bold action to vigorously defend herself and to free herself from jail, fired her attorney, Michael Currier, yesterday, and hired Brian Gurwitz, a 15-year veteran lawyer who was admitted to the California State Bar in 1994 and who graduated from McGeorge School of Law of the University of the Pacific, in... Read More
Preliminary Hearing Finally Underway in AIG/Matrix Embezzlement Case
So, finally at 2:00 PM, the Preliminary Hearing for Porrata, Montes, Martinez, and Cruz-Thompson began. The three male defendants were led in first. Hector Porrata led the pack. He was wearing Orange and had his dark brown hair cropped very short. He is a small man and he was handcuffed from his left to George... Read More
AIG/Matrix Accused Embezzlers’ Preliminary Hearing Trailed to Friday, December 18th. Plea Bargaining Could Be in the Works.
December 18th, this coming Friday, could possibly be an eventful day in Court for alleged AIG/Matrix embezzlers Hector Porrata, Cara Cruz-Thompson, Rene Montes and George Martinez. But, who knows at this point? I’ve said this before: the Preliminary Hearing got “trailed”. So, once again, yesterday, December 15th, the scheduled Preliminary Hearing in the above, aforementioned... Read More
An Interview with Cara, Part II: ‘I was in Love with my Husband.’
So, I’m here back on the record with Cara Cruz-Thompson at the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana, California, in the late afternoon of Wednesday, December 2nd 2009. Cara has been incarcerated since her arrest took place in front of her Victorville, California, home in the morning of May 6th 2009. Her husband, Hector Porrata,... Read More
An Interview with Cara, Part One. ‘Do I Feel Betrayed? I do… I do… ‘
This time when I spoke into the darkened one way glass-mirrored booth at the Orange County Jail’s Intake and Release Center, the Deputy within the darkness spoke positively, “Yes. I remember you. I got a phone call just a while ago. I am going to set this up for you.” I had called the Director... Read More
Alleged AIG Embezzlers Spend Thanksgiving in Custody. November 17th Preliminary Hearing Postponed Once Again. Part Two.
I waited a while, perhaps 15, 20 minutes, before I walked up and spoke to Hector Porrata’s attorney. I was concerned about my manner of approaching him. I did not want to be irritating or improper. Certainly being a non-lawyer, I do not know civil court protocol or procedure, so I don’t know what’s proper... Read More
