California DA Denies Need For Fraud Unit

The Bakersfield Californian reports:

• [Kern County, California] District Attorney Ed Jagels said Tuesday that, despite recent headlines, he is not convinced real estate fraud is a big enough problem to warrant a special prosecuting unit in Kern County. "We have had remarkably few real estate fraud cases over the years," Jagels said. Jagels was responding to a proposal made Monday by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, asking the county Board of Supervisors to create a specialized fraud unit within the District Attorney's Office.

• At least 14 other California counties have enacted similar programs, according to a Florez news release. "We absolutely need this," Florez said in a news conference Tuesday. The delicate, hidden nature of real estate fraud calls for more resources to halt the crimes, Florez said.

Reportedly, Bakersfield real estate appraiser Gary Crabtree has approached DA Jagels with several fraud cases in the past and all of them have been turned down, citing lack of resources in the DA's office as the reason.

(I suspect that robbery and theft at gunpoint or knifepoint is something this DA feels more comfortable prosecuting; the same crimes committed at "pen point" - the way real estate fraud typically goes down, is something this DA seemingly is shying away from.)

For more, see D.A.: Fraud unit not necessary.

For a related story, see Florez calls Kern 'hotbed' of mortgage meltdown (Forum gives victims chance to vent fears).

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