FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — A Fresno County jury heard opening statements Monday in the trial of a couple accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the late owner of a Sanger golf course.
Prosecutors allege Gina Abercrombie and her fiancé, Justin Teel, took more than $700,000 from Abercrombie’s stepfather, Randy Hansen, between 2017 and 2022.
Hansen, who operated the Sherwood Forest Golf Club, died in 2020.
Authorities arrested Abercrombie and Teel in Pleasanton in 2023. Both are charged with financial abuse and identity theft.
Prosecutors say the pair applied for business loans while pretending to be Hansen.
“The law requires us to prove the defendant makes a false statement, knows it’s false and uses that statement to get a loan or a payment, something that gives them a benefit,” a prosecutor told jurors.
Defense attorneys offered only a brief response, with one stating, “Theft, attempted theft, no.”
The first witness took the stand Monday afternoon.
The trial is expected to continue through the end of May. If convicted, Abercrombie and Teel face more than five years in custody.
A third suspect from Arizona also faces charges.
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