A Santa Barbara judge on Friday lowered bail for a Newport Beach couple accused of taking more than $2 million from a Montecito woman, among other charges, from $2 million each to $100,000 each.
Defense attorneys had argued in court this week that the defendants, Byron Richard “Rick” Tarnutzer, 63, and Vonna Tarnutzer, 70, couldn’t afford such high bail given that their financial accounts were under investigation and would be frozen, if they hadn’t been already.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office on Monday filed 68 criminal charges against the pair related to fraud, money laundering, forgery, grand theft and conspiracy…