Woman Sentenced in Real Estate Fraud Case

A former Woodland Hills resident was sentenced to serve 12 years and eight months in state prison Tuesday for her involvement in an investment fraud scheme.

In addition to time in prison, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kevin McGee also ordered Katherine “Katie” Rose, 63, to pay $3,403,158 in restitution after she pled guilty to 13 felony crimes and admitted to an aggravated white collar crime enhancement as well, according to a statement issued by the Ventura County District Attorney’s office.

Rose was sentenced along with Kenneth Powell, a former resident of Thousand Oaks, with whom she hosted some local Ventura County radio programs as “Ken and Katie.”

Powell was sentenced to 18 years in state prison and was ordered to pay $4,341,119 in restitution, the Ventura County D.A.’s office said.

An investigation by a group of Ventura County law agencies revealed that from June 2005 through May 2008, Powell and Rose falsely represented to victims that investments would be used to develop new homes on vacant lots in Taft. According to an article in The Daily News at the time of the pair's arrest in August 2011, no homes were ever built.

Additional victims were falsely led to believe their investments were being used to make loans to borrowers secured by recorded deeds of trust; however, “the deeds of trust issued to the victims were essentially worthless because the properties were either previously encumbered by other liens or the deeds of trust were never recorded,” the district attorney’s office said.

According to other news reports at the time of the arrests, authorities said Rose and Powell—whose infomercial-type radio shows consisted of the “Ken & Katie Show,” “Money Intelligence,” and “Academy of Real Estate,” on KVTA 1520 AM—encouraged listeners to attend investment seminars where they were led to invest in various properties.

KVTA General Manager Chip Ehrhardt told the Ventura County Star Powell and Rose’s shows had been on the air for two to three years, which had been paid for by the pair, before parting on less than good terms with the station.