Carissa Carpenter wants a break from home confinement, and her $200 restitution payments

Carissa Carpenter has frequently cited her health ailments for problems she had in building her multi-billion dollar movie studio in the Solano County farm town of Dixon.

After her arrest in 2014 on fraud charges that she swindled millions of dollars from investors over a 20-year period, Carpenter listed a variety of illnesses, strokes, cancer, heart problems and infections as she sought to stay out of custody.

Finally, in October 2020, she succeeded in persuading a federal judge in Sacramento to release her early from her 78-month prison sentence because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, she’d like another break.

Carpenter is asking for a modification in the terms of her home confinement that would allow her to leave her Big Bear residence whenever she likes. And, she’s asking U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley to reduce the $200 a month restitution payment he ordered her to pay toward her $3.6 million court-ordered restitution, citing the “significant financial burden” the payments place on her.

Federal prosecutors — and many of her victims — and not enthused about that idea.

“Please, please do not dishonor my father any more by granting her motion,” the daughter of one victim who died destitute last September after losing his retirement account to Carpenter wrote to the court. “She needs to pay what she owes.

“Please, in the name of every person victimized by this narcissistic sociopath, do not lessen one second or one penny of her sentence.”

“How about she writes all of us and specifically accounts for what she did with our money,” wrote another victim who said Carpenter took more than $25,000 from them. “How about she writes to us and asks us to forgive her...

“I don’t think she’s been held accountable. She needs to go back to prison and pay her debt to society.”

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rosanne Rust and Christina McCall also oppose Carpenter’s request, noting that she got out of prison two and one-half years earlier than expected, and that to date she has repaid only $2,175 of the $3,642,755 in restitution she owes.

“For more than a decade, defendant perpetrated an elaborate investment fraud scheme, telling victims that she would build a movie studio and complex in various cities in Northern California,” the prosecutors wrote. “She used sophisticated methods to carry out her scheme, including fictitious business entities, bogus stock offerings, and the hiring of realtors.

“Defendant also lived an extravagant lifestyle from the proceeds of her scheme, staying in lavish hotels, buying a $75,000 Mercedes-Benz, paying for tens of thousands of dollars in dating services, and purchasing expensive jewelry. Once caught and charged, defendant again defrauded another victim while on pretrial release, resulting in her being detained until her case was resolve.”

Carpenter’s undoing stemmed from a 2013 Sacramento Bee investigation that found she had been accused of fleecing investors for years as she peddled her dream of building a move studio in Northern California, and that she had left behind a trail of liens, unpaid bills and civil judgments.

After her 2014 indictment and a series of hearings that included her fainting at least twice in court, she pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and one count of lying to the FBI and was sentenced to 78 months in prison.

She won early release from a federal prison in Texas in October 2020 after contracting COVID-19, and was allowed to live in the 600-square-foot Big Bear home owned by her partner, musician Michael Matier.

Carpenter, 58, was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, including 24 months “restricted to her residence at all times except for employment; education; religious services; medical, substance abuse or mental health treatment; attorney visits; court appearances; court-ordered obligations; or other activities as preapproved by the probation officer,” court documents say.

“Specifically, she is authorized to leave her residence only on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.,” her latest attorneys, Alan Lewis of New York and George Harris of Oakland, wrote.

But those restrictions are interfering with her ability to stay healthy, court papers say, with her cardiologist submitting a letter stating that it “is essential for Ms. Carpenter to remain active doing daily activities such as walking and exercise.”

Because she suffers from dizzy spells, “it can be difficult to anticipate when she will feel well enough to get out and exercise,” her attorneys wrote.

“Often, she is unable to exercise during the limited hours her probation officers have permitted her to go out, and unable to exercise during periods when she is relatively well because those periods coincide with the hours she is not permitted to leave her residence. The unpredictable nature of the weather in Big Bear can also sometimes be an impediment to Ms. Carpenter’s ability to get the daily outdoor exercise prescribed by her doctors during the limited hours she is permitted to go outside.”

Because her fainting spells make it dangerous for her to be left alone, her attorneys argued, she should be allowed to travel with her partner when he needs to leave his home.

“In particular, Ms. Carpenter needs the ability to accompany Mr. Matier when he has a music job to play,” they wrote. “Thus, restricting Ms. Carpenter to the residence also impedes Mr. Matier’s ability to go to work and take care of the necessities of life while ensuring that Ms. Carpenter is safe.”

Prosecutors scoffed at that argument, saying the rules of her confinement “are not unduly burdensome and should remain in place.”

“Carpenter’s motion argues that home confinement is inconvenient, and prevents her from taking hikes and doing other outdoor exercise when the weather is nice,” they wrote.

They also noted that Carpenter “has paid less than one percent of the restitution she owes after being released” and that the $200 payments she is asking be reduced are a “paltry amount.”

Prosecutors note that Carpenter’s motion indicates she needs $10,000 to replace damaged breast implants and $8,323 for dental work, but that Carpenter has not explained “why the care she needs cannot be provided by physicians who accept her health insurance or a greater percentage of it.”

“Despite making that request, Carpenter has not worked, or sought employment, to pay restitution,” they noted. “Carpenter is instead financially supported by her romantic partner and Social Security payments of close to $1,600 or $1,800 per month, after health plan premiums have already been deducted.”

Instead of reducing her monthly restitution payments, prosecutors had a suggestion for the judge.

“In light of Carpenter’s updated financial disclosures, which indicate her living expenses are covered by her romantic partner, and that she receives close to $1,600 or $1,800 per month in Social Security benefits, her required monthly restitution payment should be increased to $500,” they wrote.

This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 10:42 AM.