LOS ANGELES
A Studio City man was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme that targeted elderly victims, stole real estate and cash through forged documents, and involved the disposal of one victim’s body, officials stated Thursday.
Matthew Jason Kroth, 52, also known as “Speedy,” was sentenced to 200 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution.
He pleaded guilty in October 2023 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He has been in federal custody since August 2023.
Prosecutors stated that Kroth broke into an elderly man’s home in summer 2020, later returning to steal mail and jewelry. After the victim died — a death that went unreported — Kroth provided the man’s personal information to co-conspirators, who forged trust and power-of-attorney documents to sell the victim’s home and drain financial accounts.
Authorities said the conspirators later dismembered and disposed of the victim’s body to avoid detection.
Court records show Kroth also received proceeds from the fraudulent sale of another victim’s property through a joint bank account. The wire-fraud conspiracy ran from at least 2020 through January 2023.
In a sentencing memo, prosecutors said Kroth admitted he targeted the home because it appeared “uncared for,” using a fake “welfare check” as a ruse during the initial break-in.
Kroth also admitted possessing about 120 grams of methamphetamine in January 2023, along with cutting agents, a digital scale, ammunition and packaging materials, intending to resell the drugs.
Co-conspirator Caroline Herrling, 46, of West Hills, is serving a 20-year federal sentence after pleading guilty in March 2023. Another defendant, James Rhys Kantor, 46, of Cumming, Georgia, is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 19 after pleading guilty in October 2024.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Los Angeles Police Department Valley Bureau Homicide.