One More Arrested, Two Others Sought In San Diego-Area Alleged Land Patent, Foreclosure Rescue Scam; 17 Cheated Out Of $100K+, Say Prosecutors

In San Diego, California, the San Diego Union Tribune reports:

• Prosecutors are asking for the public's help in finding two people suspected of scamming homeowners in a foreclosure fraud scheme, officials announced Friday. Julita Whittingham and Edgardo Orcino are part of a group of people suspected of defrauding San Diego County homeowners out of more than $100,000 in 2007, prosecutors said.

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• A third suspect, Jessica Refuerzo, 55, of Spring Valley, was found and taken into custody Friday, officials said. Prosecutors said the trio falsely promised to help homeowners who had defaulted on mortgage payments or who feared they would soon default by holding seminars in which they pitched their scheme.(1)

For more, see Authorities Seek 2 In Alleged Land Patent Scam.

For story update, see Man In Foreclosure Scam Pleads Not Guilty (Edgardo Orcino, 57, was arraigned after turning himself in at the downtown San Diego County Courthouse. Orcino, along with Larry Smith, Marguerita Gaviola, Maria Capa, Jessica Refuerzo and Julita Whittingham is charged in the alleged scheme. Whittingham remains at large, said Deputy District Attorney Marlene Coyne).

(1) Two other suspects in the case are in custody. Larry Smith, 60, has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft and engaging in deceitful practices while acting as a mortgage foreclosure consultant. Prosecutors said Smith and the others sold “land patents” to homeowners facing foreclosure and told them that the patents would make them a sovereign nation that would be protected from the banks. At least 17 people fell for the scheme, prosecutors said, and lost tens of thousands of dollars.