Promoting America's Urban Frontier
24 Indicted In Soprano's Style Loan Fraud
Really classic stuff-- Hopefully, one of many serious investigations and idictments related to what are likely billions of dollars in organized loan frauds which have damaged our economy and devasted communities.
"The charged racketeering activity all stems from an extensive mortgage fraud scheme based in San Diego, that involved 220 properties with a total sales price of more than $100 million dollars"
"The indictment alleges that the defendants devised a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders and to obtain money and property by false and fraudulent means. According to the indictment, between January 2005 and at least April 2008, the defendants used multiple real estate businesses, including the Ivy House, Inc., the Real Estate Center of Southern California, and the Real Estate Center of La Mesa, to facilitate the fraudulent purchase of real estate. In general terms, the scheme charged in the indictment worked as follows:
Defendants identified properties for sale throughout Southern California that had been on the market for an extended period of time and for which the original asking price had been reduced.
Defendants then recruited "straw buyers" who allowed their names and credit histories to be used to obtain mortgage loans and purchase properties in name only on behalf of the racketeering enterprise.
Defendants prepared and submitted offers to purchase the identified properties that substantially exceeded the asking price for those properties.
Defendants hired real estate appraisers, including co-defendant Esteban Valenzuela, to prepare inflated appraisals for the identified properties; the inflated appraisals were then used to fraudulently induce lenders to believe that the loans being given to the "straw buyers" would be fully secured by the value of the properties being purchased.
Defendants prepared and submitted false loan applications for the "straw buyers" in order to induce lenders to make loans to persons and at terms that the lenders otherwise would not have funded.
Defendants prepared and submitted false documents and information in response to lender verification inquiries, including "CPA letters," verification of employment forms, verification of rent forms and "discrepancy letters."
Members of the Enterprise ensured that the "straw buyers" purchased the identified properties with mortgages amounting to 100 percent of the purchase price of the property, thus ensuring that the defendants did not have any money at risk in the fraudulent transactions.
Defendants arranged to have the amount of money that exceeded the asking price (i.e., the "kickback amount") paid at the close of escrow to a shell construction company maintained by the racketeering enterprise.
Defendants falsely informed the lenders that the "kickback amount" would be used to pay for handicap accessing and property upgrades to the identified properties, thereby falsely inducing the lenders to believe that the entire loan amount would be secured by the value of the identified properties.
Based upon the investigation to date, none of the properties that were purchased as part of the enterprise had any handicap accessibility or property upgrades performed by the defendants' shell firm, Bell Construction.
Defendants disbursed the "kickback amount" to members and associates of the racketeering enterprise as payment for those individuals' participation in the fraudulent scheme.
The "straw buyers" subsequently failed to make the required mortgage payments for the fraudulently purchased properties, which ultimately resulted in the properties being foreclosed and the lenders suffering severe financial losses.
ALL Mentioned Parties Are Innocent Untill Proven Guilty
Found this on the Implodometer
"The charged racketeering activity all stems from an extensive mortgage fraud scheme based in San Diego, that involved 220 properties with a total sales price of more than $100 million dollars"
"The indictment alleges that the defendants devised a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders and to obtain money and property by false and fraudulent means. According to the indictment, between January 2005 and at least April 2008, the defendants used multiple real estate businesses, including the Ivy House, Inc., the Real Estate Center of Southern California, and the Real Estate Center of La Mesa, to facilitate the fraudulent purchase of real estate. In general terms, the scheme charged in the indictment worked as follows:
Defendants identified properties for sale throughout Southern California that had been on the market for an extended period of time and for which the original asking price had been reduced.
Defendants then recruited "straw buyers" who allowed their names and credit histories to be used to obtain mortgage loans and purchase properties in name only on behalf of the racketeering enterprise.
Defendants prepared and submitted offers to purchase the identified properties that substantially exceeded the asking price for those properties.
Defendants hired real estate appraisers, including co-defendant Esteban Valenzuela, to prepare inflated appraisals for the identified properties; the inflated appraisals were then used to fraudulently induce lenders to believe that the loans being given to the "straw buyers" would be fully secured by the value of the properties being purchased.
Defendants prepared and submitted false loan applications for the "straw buyers" in order to induce lenders to make loans to persons and at terms that the lenders otherwise would not have funded.
Defendants prepared and submitted false documents and information in response to lender verification inquiries, including "CPA letters," verification of employment forms, verification of rent forms and "discrepancy letters."
Members of the Enterprise ensured that the "straw buyers" purchased the identified properties with mortgages amounting to 100 percent of the purchase price of the property, thus ensuring that the defendants did not have any money at risk in the fraudulent transactions.
Defendants arranged to have the amount of money that exceeded the asking price (i.e., the "kickback amount") paid at the close of escrow to a shell construction company maintained by the racketeering enterprise.
Defendants falsely informed the lenders that the "kickback amount" would be used to pay for handicap accessing and property upgrades to the identified properties, thereby falsely inducing the lenders to believe that the entire loan amount would be secured by the value of the identified properties.
Based upon the investigation to date, none of the properties that were purchased as part of the enterprise had any handicap accessibility or property upgrades performed by the defendants' shell firm, Bell Construction.
Defendants disbursed the "kickback amount" to members and associates of the racketeering enterprise as payment for those individuals' participation in the fraudulent scheme.
The "straw buyers" subsequently failed to make the required mortgage payments for the fraudulently purchased properties, which ultimately resulted in the properties being foreclosed and the lenders suffering severe financial losses.
ALL Mentioned Parties Are Innocent Untill Proven Guilty
Found this on the Implodometer
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