Mortgage Elimination Scheme Results In 68 Count Criminal Complaint Against 10

In Stanislaus County, California, The Modesto Bee reports:

• The Stanislaus County district attorney's office last month filed a 68-count criminal complaint against three real estate agents and seven alleged accomplices from Modesto, Ceres, Waterford, Turlock and Stockton. They are accused of stealing more than $2 million from lenders by filing false documents with the county clerk-recorder's office, indicating that loans to three properties had been paid so straw buyers could get new loans, then cash out the proceeds. [...] Authorities think Eric Charles Braun, 29, of Modesto did most of the legwork by meeting with lenders and managing the paperwork. His attorney, Bruce Perry, said Braun cooperated with authorities once they had a paper trail in hand, something that could help limit his culpability.

According to Braun (who, once he got nailed by authorities, appears to have wasted no time spilling his guts on his confederates to save his own hide), he downloaded legitimate deeds from a public access computer in the Stanislaus County clerk-recorder's office, which were then used to create fraudulent documents then filed with the same office. He also said he purchased notary stamps from a supply store, so the group could forge the names of Modesto-area notaries onto the phony documents. He also claimed that a fictitious mastermind given the name of "Seth Davis" was created and upon whom the blame for the fraud would be ultimately placed when the scheme was planned to end.

In addition to Braun (63 felonies), others charged were:

• Noah Adam Yates, 29, of Modesto (53 felonies), Jearod Miles Robinson, 34, of Ceres (18 felonies), Doug Eugene Wallick, 32, of Waterford (15 felonies), Darin Eric Abell, 41, of Turlock (9 felonies), Dawna Lea Abell, 38, of Turlock (9 felonies), Elizabeth Marcela Ayhens, 24, of Stockton (2 felonies), Nicholas Matthew Ayhens, 24, of Modesto (2 felonies), Arnold Vergara Rodriguez, 32, of Modesto (2 felonies), Brian William Heytz, 32, of Ceres (1 felony).

Richard Morris, the loan originator whose suspicions and tip-off to authorities prompted the investigation, commented: "If they wouldn't have been so greedy, they might still be in business."

For more, see 3 accused of mortgage fraud (DA charges more than $2M stolen from lenders using false documents).