Delecia Holt, 3-Time Candidate for Congress, Loses Appeal of Felony Fraud Conviction

UPDATE, AUG. 23, 5:18 P.M.: The state appeals court in Santa Ana rejected three-time congressional candidate Delecia Holt's appeal of seven of the nine fraud felonies that have her locked up at the state prison in Chowchilla (say hi to Omaima Nelson!). The 49-year-old Republican who has floated between various residences and GOP primaries in Orange and San Diego counties in recent years, avoided a prison cell
upon conviction because she spent so much time in jail as she was unable to make bail with funds that had not been ill-gotten. But then Holt engaged in identity theft and improper banking while on parole, so she was sent to prison for six years and eight months.

Martin Wisckol, the Orange County Register political reporter who has been on Holt's hide like an infected pimple, reports the appellate court rejected her appeal that claimed the jury in her original trial received improper instructions from the judge.

Read the appeal's court ruling here.

Billing herself as a “Republican with a heart”—and engaging in shady whoring of campaign contributions—Holt ran for the Republican nominations for Congress in 2005 (Chris Cox's old Newport Beach-based seat), 2006 (Randy “Duke” Cunningham's old San Diego seat) and 2008 (Brian Bilbray's current San Diego County seat).

“Ethics reform begins with me,” she told attendees of a Rancho Bernardo Republican Women's Federated luncheon in March 2006. “I am the only candidate that has pledged not to accept a salary for the first year of service while in Congress.”

But the self-proclaimed author, businesswoman, philanthropist, sociologist-researcher and intelligence security analyst showed her real sense of ethics the year before when she stole a Mercedes Benz from an Orange County car dealership. From the summer of 2007 through the spring of 2008, Holt also wrote bad checks, committed welfare fraud and defrauded Orange County hotels, four comedians, a photographer, a videographer, a telephone company and a movie theater chain.

Holt was arrested on Oct. 7, 2008, and remained in a jail cell—except for court appearances—through her conviction in December 2009 on seven felony counts of writing non-sufficient fund checks, one felony count of grand theft and one felony count of defrauding an innkeeper by non-payment and sentencing in January 2010.

She could have got up to eight years and four months in state prison at that sentencing hearing, but the judge awarded her time already served in jail, placed her on five years probation and ordered her to pay $40,700 in restitution.

Holt finally reached a state prison cell after breaking her probation in August.

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