California Man Gets 16 Months For Forging Elderly Mortgage Holder's Name On Subordination Agreement, Then Pocketing $110K From New Mortgage

In Fontana, California, The San Bernardino Sun reports:

• A Fontana man received a 16-month prison sentence Wednesday for forging a real estate loan agreement. Silvestre Cortez, 45, was also sentenced to three to four years on parole and must pay $5,000 restitution as part of his plea agreement, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office said.

• Prosecutors said Cortez borrowed $115,000 from an elderly woman for the purchase of her Rialto property [in 1997]. In 2000, he forged the woman's signature on a subordination agreement document, placing the loan in a secondary position. The man took out an additional $110,000 loan on the property. The victim discovered the forgery in 2006 when she learned her property was in foreclosure. Cortez was charged in July.

Source: Man sentenced in forgery case.

For the San Bernardino County DA Press Release, see Man Sentenced in Real Estate Fraud Scheme.