OJAI : Con Man Linked to 6 Other Fraud Cases

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kenneth R. Yegan ruled Thursday that 31-year-old con man David Michael Murray was the man who was convicted under aliases in six prior felonies in Ventura County and in other states before his conviction Wednesday in Superior Court on 12 counts of fraud.

Yegan’s finding adds two years to the six-year maximum sentence that Murray already faces for bilking an Ojai couple and Ventura County businesses out of room and board, goods and services. A Superior Court jury deliberated for about nine hours Tuesday and Wednesday before finding him guilty in the deceptions committed in January.

Murray argued unsuccessfully Thursday at the non-jury trial on his identity before Yegan. Murray said the fingerprint records of his aliases belonged to six other men because they were filed under separate FBI classification numbers rather than the same number.

But Yegan said the photos attached to Murray’s prison and court records from states--including Idaho, Texas and Utah--proved that he is the man who was convicted in those felonies, despite the differences between his name and the aliases.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 3.