DEL MAR — Two siblings are in custody after being arrested this week for the embezzlement of over $1 million from a real estate company in Del Mar, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Julie Blease, 53, and Colin Miller, 56, are facing multiple felony charges for embezzlement, identity theft, forgery, and money laundering with a white-collar crime enhancement.
Blease was arrested Aug. 23 in San Diego and Miller was arrested Aug. 24 in Poway.
Blease is the former manager of Beach Colony Apartments along Camino Del Mar, where she worked for 25 years. Starting as early as 2007, it is believed that Blease began funneling money from the company and covering it up by manipulating accounting records.
Eventually, the money was being funneled to both Blease and Miller.
Beach Colony fired Blease in 2021 and reported the alleged theft to the Sheriff’s Department. The department’s fraud unit investigated the case for nearly two years before they were able to make an arrest, according to Sgt. Marcello Orsini.
“The money was going away from the business side and funneling to both siblings,” Orsini said. “The majority was residents’ check payments. They were not making their way where they were supposed to go.”
While the department has so far confirmed the redirection of just over $1 million, Orsini said they believe the total amount of Blease’s and Miller’s theft is much higher.
Blease and Miller are both being held at the Vista Detention Facility on $500,000 bail.
Both face as many as 22 years in prison if convicted, including a white-collar enhancement that carries an additional five-year sentence under California law.
For more local crime news, visit The Coast News’ Weekly Crime Reports and Daily Arrest Logs.
