Suspected Loan Modification Racket Seeks Return Of $500K Seized By Feds In Raid As Criminal Probe Continues

In Oceanside County, California, North County Times reports:

• The government seized about a half-million dollars in assets from the bank accounts of two Oceanside businesses dealing in loan modifications for struggling homeowners, according to federal court documents filed this week.

• Dean Chandler, a lawyer who owns the 1st American Law Center in downtown Oceanside, and Gary Bobel, who owns the Lead Source, a marketing business on El Camino Real that runs a call center and performs other services for 1st American, recently filed a joint motion for the return of the assets, which were seized on June 23 when the FBI raided the offices.

• Chandler said this week that 1st American has been unable to pay employees, buy new national television ad time or process client paperwork since the raid. Assistant U.S. Attorney Valerie Chu, a prosecutor with the major fraud unit of the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego, said she will oppose the motions. She declined to discuss any accusations against the pair.

• There have been no indictments, and the federal search warrants in the case remain sealed, but Chandler said the government suspects him of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, crimes he vehemently denies.

For more, see Records show feds seized half-million in assets from loan modification business.