The owner of a Huntington Beach company, Angela Kathryn Mirabella, 52, recently pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of identity theft, resolving the remaining charges from a case alleging a $6 million nationwide student loan fraud scheme. The plea deal adds a year of informal probation to her record, running concurrently with an existing five years of formal probation.
Mirabella was previously convicted on September 3, 2024, of one felony count of identity theft. During the trial, 24 other felony counts were dismissed, and jurors deliberated for 11 days, ultimately deadlocking on 62 additional counts, including conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering. Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard King reduced the remaining felony counts to misdemeanors last month, leading to Friday’s plea agreement where 58 other misdemeanor counts were dismissed. Mirabella’s 360-day jail sentence, issued June 20, 2025, remains suspended until November 6, 2026.
Deputy Attorney General Tawnya Austin described the alleged scheme as "a simple bait and switch," where Mirabella’s employees purportedly tricked student loan holders into believing they were speaking to the Department of Education. Loan holders, many struggling with payments, were allegedly told they were approved for forgiveness, but the money they paid for assistance went directly to Mirabella, not their lenders. Austin characterized the alleged crime as “prolific,” impacting around 19,000 borrowers nationwide, including about 3,000 in California between 2017 and 2020. One victim saw her $9,000 loan grow to $12,000 after being advised to ignore notices about missed payments.
Mirabella’s attorney, Bobby Samini, argued during the trial that his client’s intent was to help people navigate a complicated process. Samini described the business as a "start-up business" that aimed to make the company work, claiming there was "no way to substantiate that Ms. Mirabella had an intent to defraud."
Several co-defendants have also seen their charges dismissed. Employee Paulina Francine Pacheco, 37, was cleared of all charges, with her attorney, Rob Harley, stating she did nothing wrong after leaving a waitressing career. Cesar Sandoval-Vilchis, Stephen Allen Gamboa, and Matthew Bruce Walsh all pleaded guilty but had their charges later dismissed after agreeing to testify in the trial. Charges against Briana Nacole Graham and Teresa Marie Lovato were also dismissed.