People v. Lu CA2/8

Filed 8/1/25 P. v. Lu CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B337815

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA495163 v.

STEVEN LU,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Lisa Lench, Judge. Affirmed.

Andrea Keith, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

__________________________

Defendant Steven Lu appeals from his conviction by a jury on September 13, 2023, of two counts of grand theft from an elder or dependent adult, in violation of Penal Code section 368, subdivision (d), a felony. We affirm. Overview Defendant was a relationship banker at a JP Morgan Chase branch bank in Los Angeles County. He met the victim, Marion Poulter, an elderly woman in her 80’s, for the first time on March 17, 2018, when she came into the bank where he worked. On March 20, 2018, Ms. Poulter wrote a check to defendant for $25,000, with the memo notation, “Thanks for your help.” On March 30, 2018, she wrote another check to defendant for $15,000. By April 5, 2018, Ms. Poulter had signed trust documents under which defendant was a 75 percent beneficiary, a durable power of attorney for healthcare in favor of defendant, and a durable power of attorney for asset management in favor of defendant. The Testimony The jury trial took place over nine days between August 30 and September 13, 2023. Tiffanie Bell was vice president and branch manager of the Chase branch in Altadena where defendant worked. There was a Bank of America financial center 20 steps away, where Ms. Poulter had multiple accounts. Ms. Bell received training about twice a year in identifying elderly people who might be susceptible to fraud or financial abuse, and was a “mandatory reporter” of suspected abuse (as was defendant). On March 17, 2018, Ms. Bell observed Ms. Poulter sitting at defendant’s desk with a big stack of paperwork; she was there for about three hours, an unusual amount of time. Defendant told Ms. Bell that Ms. Poulter was confused about her accounts, and needed assistance with understanding what was going on