Carissa Carpenter contracts COVID-19 in prison, seeks emergency order releasing her

Carissa Carpenter, the convicted Dixon movie studio con artist, has contracted COVID-19 inside a prison in Texas and is imploring a federal judge in Sacramento to release her before she dies from the disease.

Carpenter, 57, who has in the past described a variety of pre-existing illnesses from which she suffers, already had been petitioning for her release from the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, because of her concerns about coronavirus sweeping through the institution near Fort Worth.

Prosecutors have opposed her release, but Carpenter’s attorney filed new documents Monday in federal court in Sacramento disclosing that Carpenter tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 18 and contending that her age and medical history, which includes heart problems and a pacemaker, place her at great risk.

“In light of Ms. Carpenter’s underlying health conditions and COVID-19 positive status, there is a significant likelihood that her condition will rapidly worsen and that she will die if she continues to be confined at Carswell,” Sacramento attorney Erin Radekin wrote. “At least six other inmates at Carswell have suffered such fates.”

Even before her 2014 indictment on charges of fraud and lying to FBI agents, Carpenter has repeatedly blamed her medical ailments for her troubles, citing cancer, heart problems and other ailments for her lengthy history of liens, unpaid bills and court judgments against her.

At times during court appearances, she fainted or slumped forward onto the defense table, and at least once she was taken away in an ambulance.

Friend offers to let her live with him

“Ms. Carpenter has a lengthy, well documented, medical history which includes diagnosis of and treatment for: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (since 2014 defendant has had multiple vascular surveys and two operations to remove scar tissue); Multiple heart attacks and/or cardiac incidents; Vascular blockage; Multiple strokes due to Adams’ Syndrome; Multiple pacemakers installed; Broken pacemaker wire that needed to be replaced; Multiple blood clots — 3 were removed; Peptic Ulcer; Upper first rib removed; Arthritis in her back and hips; Partial mastectomy due to breast cancer (implant subsequently developed a leak leading to additional and on-going issues); Lymph nodes removed; Ovarian cancer; Ms. Carpenter is in constant pain and therefore worked with a Pain Management Specialist; Vasovagal Syncope; Cervical cancer; History of Colitis; Pericarditis (infection around the heart); Post-surgical staph infection,” one former attorney wrote as her case progressed.

“This list is likely incomplete,” he added.

But Carpenter’s current attorney argues that the latest diagnosis puts Carpenter at the risk of death, and is asking U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley to release her into the custody of Michael Matier, a musician and friend of Carpenter’s who has offered to allow her to live in a bedroom of his home in Southern California’s Big Bear area.

“I met Carissa Carpenter six years ago, and we have remained close friends ever since,” Matier wrote in a declaration filed with the court. “On August 19, 2020, she called me from FMC Carswell and told me that she has tested positive for COVID-19.

“Her voice sounded different than it normally does; I almost did not recognize it. She sounded sick, and I am concerned about her well-being.”

Matier wrote that he is willing to drive Carpenter to medical appointments as needed and will follow federal guidelines for individuals caring for COVID-19 patients.

“I have a room in my home where Carissa can isolate if she is released,” Matier wrote. “I will sleep on a mattress in the living room so that I do not endanger myself.

“I understand that she may take weeks to recover; I am willing to take care of her until she is well again.”

Judge has rejected previous request for release

Carpenter, who was sentenced in November 2018 to 6½ years in prison and ordered to pay $3.6 million in restitution to investors she swindled in her purported movie studio projects over the years, has asked twice in the last 10 months to be released because of coronavirus, including a request that was denied in June.

On Aug. 19, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rosanne Rust and Christina McCall filed documents opposing Carpenter’s request for compassionate release, arguing then that Carpenter had “consistently tested negative” and noting the severity of her crimes.

“As this court is well aware, for more than a decade, defendant perpetrated an elaborate investment fraud scheme, telling victims that she would build a movie studio and complex in various cities in Northern California,” they wrote. “She used sophisticated methods to carry out her scheme, including fictitious business entities, bogus stock offerings, and the hiring of Realtors.

“Defendant also lived an extravagant lifestyle from the proceeds of her scheme, staying in lavish hotels, buying a $75,000 Mercedes-Benz, paying for tens of thousands of dollars in dating services, and purchasing expensive jewelry. Once caught and charged, defendant again defrauded another victim while on pretrial release, resulting in her being detained until her case was resolved.”

Carpenter’s scheme tripped up by Bee probe

Carpenter’s indictment stemmed from a 2013 Sacramento Bee investigation into her lengthy history of unpaid bills, default judgments and claims to be backed by some of Hollywood’s biggest names — including Star Wars creator George Lucas, who did not know who she was. The last project she pitched was for a $2.8 billion project in the Solano County farm town of Dixon.

Despite her history, her lawyer now argues Carpenter deserves an emergency release from prison, and notes that at the time prosecutors filed their opposition to that they were not aware she had tested positive for the virus.

“When the court previously denied compassionate release, it concluded that the risk to her was not significant because at the time there had been no positive cases at FMC Carswell, where Ms. Carpenter is housed,” Radekin wrote. “Unfortunately, the court’s confidence in the Bureau of Prisons in general, and Carswell in particular, to keep COVID-19 from rapidly spreading turned out to be misplaced.

“In the last couple of months, COVID-19 has spread throughout the federal prison system at an alarming rate nationally, and its impact at Carswell has been no less than staggering.”

“As the government acknowledged, as of the time of its submission, the positivity rate at Carswell had reached now 41%. Thus the rate of infection increased from zero cases to 41% within approximately two months.”

The medical center currently houses 1,070 inmates, according to the Bureau of Prisons, and all visits to the facility have been suspended.

“The government has repeatedly underestimated the risk faced by Ms. Carpenter,” her attorney wrote. “At 57 years of age, her risk of complications and death from infection with COVID-19 is quite significant.”

Radekin added that the medical care Carpenter receives in prison is “undeniably inferior” to what she could receive if she were released to live with Matier in California.

“Ms. Carpenter’s convictions were for serious conduct, but her conduct was not violent, she has now served several years in prison, and with her survival at stake, her release is warranted,” she wrote.