Prosecutors in southern Oregon say two women forged a will to steal $2 million estate

Prosecutors in southern Oregon unveiled felony charges against two women accused of forging a will to steal a roughly $2 million estate – as first highlighted in a KATU news investigation.

The charges against Renee Pereira and her daughter, Kristine Pereira, include attempted aggravated theft, identify theft, forgery, and computer crimes. Both pleaded not guilty in court appearances late last month.

A prior KATU investigation found how difficult it can be to stop an invalid will from taking effect in Oregon.

Kristy Gerlett – the daughter of the woman who died in this case – has been fighting for more than a year and pushing investigators to charge the women she believed forged her mom’s signature on a will.

The will disinherited Kristy.

“My mom is not here to defend herself. She’s not here to have a voice. So, I’m it, and I’m not stopping,” Kristy said.

The indictments accuse the women of forging the notary’s signature and seal, the signatures of two witnesses, and the signature of Cathy Gerlett on the will. It says they did so to steal Cathy’s estate. The alleged forged will gave 80% of Cathy’s estate to Kristine Pereira.

“Out of the 8 billion people on this planet, only one benefited from it. One. And it just so happens that her mom was the one that turned it in,” Kristy said.

A prior KATU investigation found it was up to Renee Pereira to vet the will in question. Court records show she filed it in probate court in April 2023. The judge initially accepted it and allowed it to go into effect. The same judge threw it out in September 2023.

Klamath County District attorney David Schutt said the suspects preyed on the death of a loved on and did so to steal a $2 million estate.

“This involved a premeditated and coordinated effort of the defendant and her mother to steal a vast sum of money – an estate valued in excess of $2 million dollars, and in so doing disinherited a biological daughter which is Ms. Gerlett. They preyed on the circumstances surrounding the death of a loved one to get this done,” Schutt said at Kristine Pereira’s arraignment.

Now, Kristy wants more done – including additional criminal charges over the use of her mom’s credit card account after she died. The charges included two $1,000 purchases at Fred Meyer. Kristy said she got receipts from Fred Meyer showing the purchases included 4, $500 Visa gift cards.

There are also hotel stays and a trip to a casino. Kristine Pereira admitted to staying at the hotels and the casino in testimony for the probate case over Cathy’s estate but denied knowing who made the charges.

An attorney for the personal representative of the estate said her excuses are not believable.

“It’s just not credible that Ms. Pereira could be receiving such a great benefit after the death of Cathy Gerlett and not have any knowledge as to how those charges were actually made,” attorney Clark Rasche said in a court hearing on the case.

The account has still not been paid off. American Express filed a $24,000 claim against Cathy Gerlett’s estate. KATU followed up with the district attorney and the sheriff’s office – several times – specifically about the credit card charges but has not heard back.

The sheriff previously said it was an open investigation.

“I was reading the charges line by line by line, and it disgusted me,” Kristy said. “To think that they’re at a casino on my mom’s credit card, and what has anyone done about it?”

KATU reached out to Kristine Pereira by email three times. We also called a number listed for her, but the woman who answered denied being Kristine. Her attorney declined to comment.

KATU also reached out to an attorney for Renee Pereira, however the attorney has since withdrawn from the case. Both women are scheduled to be back in court in late November.

https://katu.com/news/katu-investigates/prosecutors-in-southern-oregon-charge-women-in-alleged-forged-will-case-renee-pereira-kristine-klamath-county-david-schutt-district-attorney-cathy-gerlett

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Author: KATU News
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News post in at: November 6, 2024, 3:02 am.

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