Jury Hammers Real Estate Broker In Scam Using Unwitting Straw Buyers, Stolen Identities To Fleece Lenders Of $17.5M+

From the Office of the Orange County, California District Attorney:

• [R]eal estate broker [Kathy Chen, 49, of Westminster,] was convicted [] of conspiring with her boyfriend and his brother to commit $17.5 million in real estate fraud by purchasing 35 properties using stolen identities and intentionally defaulting on loans in order to steal the loan money. [...] Chen’s boyfriend, Richard Salgado Gonzalez, 60, and his brother, Daniel Gonzalez, 57, face the same charges and sentence as Chen. Fugitives Richard and Daniel Gonzalez have outstanding arrest warrants. Both may currently be living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

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• She conspired with her then-boyfriend, Richard Gonzalez, and his brother, Daniel Gonzalez, to commit over $17.5 million in fraud by using the identities of unsuspecting or unqualified victims to obtain mortgage loans for the purchase of multiple properties. Chen and her co-defendants recruited these victims in order to hide their own identities. These victims often spoke little or no English, were unemployed or had limited incomes, and had no intention of ever residing in or repaying any loan on properties in their names.

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• [T]he defendants obtained 47 fraudulent loans from 13 lenders on 35 properties in excess of $17.5 million through the use of the fraudulently obtained identities. [...] The defendants used the fraudulently obtained personal and credit information of some of the fake buyers, including a 92-year-old woman, on several occasions without their knowledge or consent.

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• They fabricated loan applications to reflect higher incomes for the fake buyers, forged the fake buyers’ names and signatures on various deeds and loan documents, and forged seals and notary stamps on a variety of notarized documents and deeds.

For the Orange County DA press release, see Broker Convivted Of Conspiracy With Boyfriend And His Brother To Commit $17.5 Million In Real Estate Fraud By Purchasing Homes Using Stolen Identities And Intentionally Defaulting On Loans (Co-defendant boyfriend and brother have warrants for their arrest).