Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Fraudulently Obtained Mortgages Estimated At $80M+ In San Diego-Area Fraud Operation

In San Diego, California, Voiceof SanDiego reports:
  • In one of the first local cases in a national crackdown on mortgage and real estate fraud, four people connected with a San Marcos realty office have pleaded guilty to charges that they went to great and illegal lengths to secure mortgages for financially unqualified consumers, thereby pocketing more than $1 million in fraudulent commissions. [...] Alejandro and Emilio Lopez, two owners of Century 21 Eldorado in San Marcos, headed the "Lopez Team" of loan officers, loan processors and real estate agents. Ravinderjit Singh Sekhon was a loan officer there and Linda Velasquez was the office manager, acting as translator for Sekhon with Spanish-speaking clients. All four pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges related to the scheme.

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  • With more than 200 clients wrapped up in this scheme, at $400,000 a loan, the fraudulent loans could total more than $80 million.

For more, see Mortgage Fraud Hits the Courts.