Northern California Prosecutors Get "No Contest" Pleas In Foreclosure Rescue Scam

In Stanislaus County, California, The Modesto Bee reports:

• Two men who swindled homes from vulnerable families by posing as Christian do-gooders avoided trial and state prison with a plea deal Wednesday, and agreed to make restitution to some victims. Lonni Ashlock, 56, of Waterford and Ronald Buhler, 26, of Riverbank entered no contest pleas to six felony counts and were sentenced to one year in Stanislaus County Jail. They may be eligible for alternate work programs, Judge Hurl Johnson said.

• The plea bargain negated most of the 50 felony counts they would have faced at a trial scheduled to begin next month. Those counts stemmed from cases involving 12 families.
  A Bee review showed Ashlock and Buhler acquired at least 142 properties from owners facing foreclosure in four counties. They were charged only in Stanislaus County.

[...]

• The men gained the trust of owners about to lose their homes at public auction, sometimes by praying with them, then duped them into signing over deeds, witnesses said at their preliminary hearing last fall. Several continued paying rent but eventually were evicted. Those who say they were victims include an 86-year-old woman with dementia, a 66-year-old schizophrenic, a woman with brain lesions and several other disabled people, according to court documents and testimony.

• "They took away people's dignity. How are they going to get that back? There is no amount of money," said John "J.J." Martin, one of 28 former clients who sued Ashlock and Buhler. Though the men formally admitted to swindling six families, they agreed in the plea deal to make restitution to 20. Some are among those with active civil lawsuits against Ashlock and Buhler; Martin is not.

[...]

• Of the 20 to receive restitution, 12 no longer live in the homes they lost to the men. The remaining eight were not evicted, but all face foreclosure, attorneys said.

[...]

• Ashlock specifically pleaded no contest to violations of the Home Equity Sales Act, which protects homeowners from deceiving pitches. Buhler pleaded no contest to two identical counts plus four counts of theft by false pretenses.

[...]

• [One victim] said he lost the home his parents had hoped would stay in the family forever. He since has suffered two heart attacks, brought on by stress, he said.

According to an earlier Modesto Bee report, the men and their companies have been named in at least 27 lawsuits in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties (see Plea deal for men accused of fraud?).

For more, see 2 plead guilty to swindling homeowners (One year in jail, restitution for 20 families mark deal).

For prior posts on this story, see:

• Plea Deal In The Works For Foreclosure Rescue Operators?,
• California Judge Decides to Proceed to Trial in Matter of Accused "Deed Thieves".

For more on equity stripping scams, generally, see DREAMS FORECLOSED: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes Through Equity-stripping Foreclosure 'Rescue' Scams (4.61 MB approx.).