Lina Hinds, 39, formerly of Concord, California, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading no contest to felony embezzlement charges in San Mateo County Superior Court, California. Hinds, who was awaiting trial in three separate embezzlement cases, also plead guilty to excessive taking, committing a new crime while out on bail and having a prior prison commitment. According to prosecutors, between May 1 and July 11, 2006, Hinds embezzled $225,841 from a flooring company based in Foster City, California where she was employed as a controller. She used the proceeds in part to put a down payment on a home. After being confronted, Hinds reportedly offered to pay the money back, but failed to do so. The authorities were notified in October 2006 and she was charged with the thefts. Hinds is reported to have a 1999 grand theft conviction in Los Angeles County for which she served prison time. At the time of the Foster City case, Hinds was out on bail in a pending embezzlement case from Alameda County. According to reports, Hinds was able to get a job at Publisher’s Group West in Berkley, California, while on bail and proceeded to steal some $300,000 from that employer. According to prosecutors, Hinds failed to make a court appearance, breaking her bail, and was ultimately arrested in Washington State, after she had managed to get hired by Sun Precautions, in Everett, Washington and stealing nearly $40,000 from them to purchase a Chevrolet Trailblazer. She was using the alias "Jackie Chu" in Washington. Authorities in Washington seized fake Social Security cards, credit cards and rental agreements, and even a phony badge indicating that she was a criminal investigator for the U.S. Department of Treasury.
Read the story here, here and here.
This is an amazing story. Hinds is clearly certifiable, but by the same token a true menace to society. Six years seems light to me in light of her past and present actions. If any reader gets a mug shot of Hinds, please forward it as we'd love to post it.
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3 comments:
what's your name? You know her? Me too....
Mr. Marquet,
Su is Lina's maiden name, and you're right about the 1999 charges against her. There is also a third...in 2018 Lina was sentenced 6 years in Federal prison for embezzling $1.8Mil. That is found online from a Texas news source along with an accompanying mugshot. It saddens me that she fails to learn her lessons after being seriously charged and sentenced twice before; yet again, people continue to be greatly harmed by her actions. You're also right about her being "clearly certifiable." Through the 90s, I knew her better than most, and she was a very hard worker! She would have gone far in the business world through HONEST hard work. Lina also had a gift for easily gaining one's trust, which unfortunately, she used for her own advantage. I too was greatly deceived.
Lina also lied to everyone on a personal level. She surrounded herself with 'friends' that she thought helped her cover story. Although she could have easily made friends without showering them with what initially appeared to be kind generosity, eventually people began to question what the truth was because her stories were over the top and often 'grew' over time. She would then start a campaign to discredit that person as ungrateful, broken and crazy. She would distance herself citing that past abusive trauma was being triggered so no one would listen to the accusations. I knew something was not right - that she was likely a pathological liar - but it all became clear when I realized she had set me up to take the blame for blank checks missing from one of her jobs. I was astonished at how stupid she must have thought I was, but also realizing how stupid I really was for how much I just ignored. I distanced myself - but have not ever forgotten that I could have possibly stopped some of this had I just spoken up. I still wonder if we were used to help cover the embezzlement, or if the embezzlement was a means to buy a life full of dedicated friends who would revere her.
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