A Yucca Valley woman was arrested Thursday, accused of forging the will of her deceased client. More than two years after the death of her client, a Yucca Valley caretaker was arrested, accused of forging her former client’s will. According to a Sheriff’s press release, Ernest Vilmos died in August 2011, and his Living Trust Will named his caretaker, Stephanie Danna, 24, of the 57100 block of Yucca Blossom Drive, as his beneficiary. Vilmos’s daughter filed a lawsuit against Danna, claiming that the living trust was altered and the signatures were forged. In June 2013, the Sheriff’s Department seized the notary public’s book containing Vilmos’s signature and fingerprints during a search warrant, and it was determined the fingerprints in the book did not belong to Ernest Vilmos. During the Sheriff’s investigation and subsequent searches, more evidence was recovered showing that Ernest Vilmos’s living trust had been altered and the signatures were forged. The case was submitted to the District Attorney’s office, and on Tuesday, September 24, a warrant was issued for Danna’s arrest. Stephanie Danna was arrested about 9:30 Thursday morning on suspicion of perjury, forgery, identity theft, and intent to defraud. She was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail with her bail set at $50,000.
