Butte County DA Issues Warning On Local "Fractional Interest" Foreclosure Rescue Scam

In Oroville, California, the Chico Enterprise Record reports:

• Local property owners who may be in the process of foreclosure are being warned by the Butte County District Attorney's and Clerk-Recorder's offices about a possible scam. The scheme is supposed to work by having the property owner grant a fractional interest in the property to a sham business entity, according to the District Attorney's Office. The property owner is also asked to pay the person who gains the fractional interest a monthly fee. The fractional owner then files bankruptcy for the sham business to stop foreclosure. The bankruptcy is found to be fraudulent, the foreclosure continues and the owner loses the property as well as the fees they paid to the scam artist.

• County Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs heard of the scheme from other county recorder offices and checked Butte County records. She found at least one suspicious case, referring it to District Attorney Mike Ramsey, whose office is investigating the circumstances. Ramsey said the case has ties to a similar scheme out of Alameda County.

• In Alameda, the district attorney has brought charges against two people who have gained fractional interests from property owners in Alameda, Fresno and Napa. The U.S. Attorney in Sacramento has indicted 19 people on similar charges, according to Ramsey. Property owners who may be approached in this manner are encouraged to contact Butte County's economic crime unit, 1-866-323-7283 [...].

Source: Foreclosure scam may be operating locally.

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