3 Sentenced In Upfront Fee Loan Modification Scam; Prosecution Of 2 More Pending, 3 Others On The Lam

In Southern California, the San Diego Union Tribune reports:

• After pleading guilty to loan-modification fraud, three people connected with a company that scammed hundreds of distressed homeowners in Southern California have received sentences ranging from probation to six years in prison.(1) “There are a lot of these scam artists roaming around California looking for vulnerable people, so it's important to catch them and convict them and imprison them,” state Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. yesterday. “It is also important to send up a flare for people in foreclosure to watch out.”

• In November, Brown announced the breakup of First Gov, a company based in San Bernardino. The firm took payments from troubled borrowers but did nothing to prevent foreclosures, officials said. First Gov offered to renegotiate loans and reduce mortgage payments. It charged upfront fees that ranged from $1,500 to $5,000, Brown said. Homeowners were told to stop making mortgage payments and end communications with their lenders.

For more, see 3 sentenced in scam over foreclosures.

For more on this case from the California Attorney General:

• Press release: Attorney General Brown Sends Perpetrators of Loan Modification Fraud to Prison,
• Felony Complaint - People v. Amador, et al.,
• Flyer and Envelope allegedly used by the defendants to solicit business.

(1) Rosa Conrado, 51, of San Bernardino was sentenced yesterday to six years, four months in prison for six counts of grand theft in connection with the scam, officials said. Alejandrina Maldonado, 33, of St. Lucie, Fla., was sentenced Feb. 26 to a three-year prison term for one count of grand theft. Martin Jesus Flores, 33, of Baldwin Park was given three years of probation yesterday, based on limited participation in the scheme. David Giron, 44, of Ontario, and Saul Amador, 23, of West Covina are scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 19 on charges of theft, money laundering and conspiracy. Three other alleged members of the group – Juan Jose Perez, 48, Isuara Hernandez, 33, of La Habra, and Antonia Gonzalez, 66, of San Bernardino – are believed to have fled the jurisdiction and may be outside the country, officials said. foreclosure rescue