California Man Charged With Fatal Fentanyl Poisoning of Foster Mother in $500,000 Identity Theft Plot
A San Diego County man has been charged with first-degree murder after prosecutors alleged he fatally poisoned his foster mother with fentanyl to orchestrate a massive real estate and identity theft scheme. Cedric Von Ferdinand, 34, is accused of killing 65-year-old Nadine Jett, a Los Angeles County lawyer who had served as his foster mother for years, before burying her body on her rural property.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced the murder charges on Wednesday, describing the case as an extreme example of “deadly greed.” Von Ferdinand faces special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain and the administration of poison. If convicted, he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, should prosecutors choose to pursue it. The murder charge follows a separate investigation that had already resulted in more than 30 counts of real estate and other fraud charges against him.
The investigation into Jett’s disappearance began in mid-2024, but prosecutors believe the crime began months earlier while she was at her most vulnerable. Jett had been diagnosed with cancer in August 2023 and was undergoing chemotherapy when she was last seen alive on Jan. 14, 2024. Investigators believe Jett was poisoned between Jan. 14 and Jan. 17, 2024. While she was scheduled for a critical CT scan on Jan. 19, she never arrived; investigators later found that Von Ferdinand had systematically canceled all of her upcoming medical appointments.
Following her death, Von Ferdinand allegedly told a caretaker and Jett’s other foster children that she had died in Mexico and that her body had been cremated without a memorial service. However, his story began to unravel when he was unable to produce a death certificate for Jett. Suspicious of his claims and noticing irregularities in Jett’s property records, the other foster children reported her missing in June 2024.
Evidence of an elaborate fraud emerged as the San Diego County District Attorney’s office and the Sheriff’s Department conducted parallel investigations. Prosecutors allege that after Jett’s death, Von Ferdinand used her identity to file forged documents, including quick deeds to transfer her three properties—one in San Diego County and two investment properties in Los Angeles County—into his own name. In April 2024, he allegedly sold one of the Los Angeles properties for more than $200,000. Investigators also discovered he had used approximately $500,000 in stolen funds to purchase a condominium in Gardena.
The case took a bizarre turn with the involvement of a co-defendant, Kimberley Pifer. Prosecutors allege that Pifer impersonated Jett to participate in a fraudulent marriage ceremony with Von Ferdinand in May 2024—months after Jett had actually died. A marriage license reflecting this union was later recovered by investigators during a search of Von Ferdinand’s property.
Search teams eventually discovered Jett’s partially mummified remains buried in a six-foot-by-six-foot hole on her Oak Creek Road property. A toxicology report later confirmed that she died from an acute overdose of fentanyl, and her death was ruled a homicide. Investigators noted that Von Ferdinand had told friends he intended to move into Jett’s home to care for her during her cancer treatment, a move Stephan characterized as preying on her in her time of need.
Von Ferdinand was arrested in Los Angeles County on Tuesday and was scheduled for arraignment on the murder charge Thursday afternoon. An attorney for Von Ferdinand did not immediately provide a comment regarding the allegations.
