County Real Estate Fraud Unit Bags Calif. Man Allegedly Running Upfront Fee Loan Modification Racket; Victims Urged To Step Up, File Complaints

In Tulare County, California, The Fresno Bee reports:

• In a crackdown on foreclosure fraud, the Tulare County District Attorney's Office has filed charges against three men, leading to a Visalia man's arrest [last] week. Julio Garcia Cedillo, 33, of Visalia, was arrested Wednesday and made $25,000 bail Thursday. He is the manager of Blue Pacific Financial, a business that provides loan modification services, according to a statement by the Tulare County District Attorney's Office.

• An arrest warrant was issued for Cedillo last month after prosecutors filed charges against three people in Tulare County Superior Court.(1) Prosecutions for foreclosure fraud are a growing trend in an era of mounting home foreclosures. [...] Five years ago, the Tulare County District Attorney's Office started a real estate fraud unit.

For more, see Visalian arrested, accused of foreclosure fraud (Two others charged in Tulare County crackdown).

See also: Tulare Advance Register: Suspected foreclosure fraud victims sought:

• The District Attorney's Office is asking that anyone who believes they have been a victim of a foreclosure fraud to contact investigator Dwayne Johnson. Information: 733-6411.

(1) Reportedly, Cedillo is charged with two felony counts of foreclosure fraud and is accused of taking money from clients whose homes were in foreclosure and who were seeking loan modifications, the Tulare County District Attorney's Office said. Also named in the complaint were Cesar Martinez, 28, and David Martinez, 30, both of Visalia, the story states.