Sauter-Frett Pleads Not Guilty to Embezzlement and Corruption Charges

Dressed in a red Bureau of Corrections jumpsuit, fugitive realtor Rosemary Sauter-Frett held her ground in Magistrate Court on Thursday, pleading not guilty to all charges of embezzlement and corruption pending against her.

Sauter-Frett fled the territory in 2010, allegedly taking more than $2 million of her clients’ money with her. FBI agents arrested her near San Diego in January. She had an advice of rights hearing April 4, at which prosecutors detailed the 13 counts of embezzlement by fiduciary and two counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, plus charges under the Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Bail was set at $1.25 million.

During Thursday’s arraignment hearing, Sauter-Frett’s defense attorney, Vincent Colianni, said he had filed on April 16 for a reduction in bail for his client, but Magistrate Judge Henry Carr said that, given "the seriousness of the charges" pending against Sauter-Frett, he would hold off on making a decision until the government had more time to respond.

Superior Court Judge Denise Francois would deal with the bail issue once the government is caught up on all the paperwork, Carr added.

The affidavits that are the basis for the warrant for Sauter-Frett’s arrest describe a series of complaints from clients who told investigators how the St. Thomas realtor had defrauded them, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The documents detailed 12 such cases and were sealed at the time the warrants were issued in 2010, but which became available after Sauter-Frett was extradited back to St. Thomas on April 3.

In February 2010, Sauter-Frett’s real estate firm on St. Thomas, RE/MAX Dream Properties in Lockhart Gardens, was closed and locked after Sauter-Frett disappeared and was being hunted down by local authorities. At that time, a V.I. Superior Court warrant was issued for her arrest after local real estate agents reported that checks worth tens of thousands of dollars drawn on the RE/MAX escrow account had bounced and clients reported that they were not able to close on their houses.