More On Stockton Mortgage Fraud

KXTV-TV Channel 10 in Sacramento, California reports:

• "The FBI has questioned a number of real estate professionals linked to fraudulent transactions involving a Stockton man arrested last week. Investigators say Iftikhar Ahmad, 36, bought and sold more than 100 houses over the past decade. The FBI believes dozens of those transactions involved mortgage fraud."

• "In her report, FBI Special Agent Kathleen Nicolls said Deborah Timmins, 49, was an escrow officer involved in at least 13 of Ahmad's property sales. Nicolls said Ahmad paid Timmins $7,500 for her services outside of escrow, which she points out is not customary. Timmins admitted to the FBI that she was fired from Chicago Title for misconduct and later went to work for Commonwealth Land Title. Timmins' twin sister, Denise James, was an escrow assistant and her notary seal was used in five of Ahmad's real estate transactions. Two of those transactions involved identity theft."

Loan company employees and the appraisers are also on the FBI radar. In addition to the real estate professionals, the FBI has reportedly identified dozens of individuals it believes may be complicit in the mortgage fraud scheme, including Ahmad's three brothers and people who bought houses from Ahmad.

For more, see Real Estate Pros Probed in Mortgage Fraud.

For story updates, see

• Mortgage fraud probe widens (Jose Serrano, 44, of Stockton was indicted by a federal grand jury in Sacramento on mail fraud and money laundering charges for his part in the alleged scheme that illegally flipped more than 100 homes, spearheaded by 36-year-old Iftikhar Ahmad, also of Stockton.) (10-26-07)
• FBI details housing fraud case (Stockton man awaits a court hearing Thursday) (8-26-07).

Go here for other posts on this investigation.

California Man Cops Plea In Mortgage Scam; Led House-Flipping Operation Involving As Many As 100 Homes, Say Feds

In Sacramento, California, the Stockton Record reports:

• A Stockton man accused by federal officials of spearheading a multimillion-dollar house-flipping scheme has pleaded guilty and faces a maximum prison sentence of 21/2 years, his attorney said. Iftikhar Ahmad, 36, admits he was wrong, but that he also was a symptom of a broken mortgage system failing people throughout the nation, San Francisco defense attorney John Runfola said, adding that Ahmad became the fall guy for powerful bankers and brokers who go unpunished.

***

• The guilty pleas of Ahmad and three associates come amid headlines calling Stockton ground zero for the housing mortgage crisis. In many Stockton neighborhoods, "For Sale" signs on front lawns are as common as mailboxes. He admitted to U.S. District Judge William Shubb his guilt Monday on two counts of mail fraud and one count of engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally obtained property.

***

• A probe into Ahmad's company, I&R Investment Properties, won prosecutors an indictment charging Ahmad in a scheme involving as many as 100 distressed Stockton-area homes that Ahmad bought cheaply and quickly sold at inflated prices. He amassed $8.6 million, they said.

Others already having pleaded guilty in the scheme are former Long Beach Mortgage loan coordinator John Ngo, 27, of San Ramon, straw buyer Manpreet Singh, 24, of Stockton, and straw buyer recruiter Jose Serrano, 44, of Stockton.

For more, see Stockton man, 36, admits to scam (He is 4th to plead guilty in scheme to flip houses).

From the U.S. Attorney's Office:

• Plea agreement - U.S. v. Ahmad,
• Go here for U.S. Attorney Press Release.

Go here for other posts on this investigation.

California Feds Charge Stockton Man In Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud

KXTV-TV Channel 10 in Sacramento, California reports:

• "What began with an identity theft investigation eventually led the FBI to an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving subprime lenders and dozens of homes in Stockton. The FBI says Iftikhar Ahmad, 36, made millions by buying and selling more than 100 houses over the past eleven years. According to a complaint and supporting affidavit filed in federal court, many of the transactions involved a quick turnaround with a dramatic price increase."

Reportedly, along with straw buyers Robert Ortiz Alfaro and Manpreet Singh, Ahmad faces charges of mail fraud. Ahmad also faces money laundering charges. It is believed that Ahmad pocketed around $9 million in one 3-year period, and that some of which was sent back to his native country, Pakistan.

Court documents say the FBI suspects a number of real estate professionals of possible complicity in the scheme and have questioned or investigated a mortgage broker, loan officer, escrow officer, notary, and two appraisers, according to the story.

For more, watch

• the Channel 10 report - Part 1
• the Channel 10 report - Part 2

To read the online stories, see:

• Mortgage Fraud Bust Linked to Stockton Homes
• ID Theft Victim Helps Crack Mortgage Fraud

California Loan Coordinator Admits Lying To Grand Jury In Federal Fraud Probe

In Northern California, the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

• An Alameda County man pleaded guilty Monday to lying to a federal grand jury that is investigating subprime mortgage fraud in San Joaquin County, prosecutors said. John Ngo, 27, of Dublin, a former senior loan coordinator for Long Beach Mortgage Co., admitted receiving payments from the company's sales representatives to get loan applications approved despite knowing that many of the applications were fraudulent, said the office of U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott in Sacramento.

Acording to prosecutors, Ngo admitted that he lied about having pocketed money from a mortgage broker who referred loan applications to the company. He had actually received about $100,000, mostly to "put in the fix" in the approval process, insuring that bogus applications were given the green light. Prosecutors say Ngo has agreed to cooperate with the investigation, in which prosecutors are seeking to nail several others currently under indictment.

Ngo was nailed amid a federal probe into Stockton's Iftikhar Ahmad, who is currently under indictment for allegedly illegally flipped houses in the Stockton area. For more, see:

• Guilty plea in subprime mortgage scam,
• Man pleads guilty in mortgage fraud (Stockton Record),
• U.S. Attorney press release.