Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Operation Homewrecker Nets 19 Indictments

19 individuals were indicted for mortgage fraud-related offenses under Operation Homewrecker. The leader of this nationwide scam is Charles Head, 33, Los Angeles, California, who targeted homeowners in dire financial straits, fraudulently obtaining title to over 100 homes and stole millions of dollars through fraudulently obtained loans and mortgages. Operation Homewrecker is the product of an extensive investigation by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation.

The charges are broken out into two separate indictments, “Head One” and “Head Two”.  Head One involved a foreclosure rescue scam, netting approximately $6.7 million in fraudulently obtained funds taken from 47 homeowners, nearly all of whom were located in California. Head Two involved an equity stripping scheme, netting approximately $5.9 million in stolen equity from 68 homeowners in states across the nation. While still targeting distressed homeowners and defrauding mortgage lenders through the use of straw buyers, this time Charles Head altered the scheme so that he would receive approximately 97 percent of the stolen equity, while his sales agents and employees, and the other defendants, would receive either the remaining 3 percent of equity or a salary from the fraudulently-obtained funding.

The following defendants were charged in the February 28, 2008 Head One indictment: Charles Head, 33, La Habra, California; Jeremy Michael Head, 30, Huntington Beach, California; Elham Assadi, aka Elham Assadi Jouzani, aka Ely Assadi, 30, Irvine, California; Leonard Bernot, 51, Laguna Hills, California; Akemi Bottari, 28, Los Angeles; Joshua Coffman, 29, North Hollywood; John Corcoran, aka Jack Corcoran, 52, Anaheim; Sarah Mattson, 27, Phoenix, Arizona; Domonic McCarns, 33, Brea, California; Anh Nguyen, 36, Los Angeles; Omar Sandoval, 32, Rancho Cucamonga, California; Xochitl Sandoval, 29, Rancho Cucamonga; Eduardo Vanegas, 28, Phoenix; Andrwe Vu, 39, Santa Ana; Justin Wiley, 28, Irvine; and Kou Yang, 32, Corona, California.

On March 13, 2008, the federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment in Head Two against seven defendants, including Charles Head, John Corcoran, Kou Yang, each also charged in Head One, as well as Keith Brotemarkle, 42, Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Benjamin Budoff, 41, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Domonic McCarns, 33, Brea; and Lisa Vang, 24, Westminster.

The Scheme Under Head One:

From approximately January 1, 2004 to March 14, 2006 , the defendants contacted desperate homeowners, offering two “options” allowing them to avoid foreclosure and obtain thousands of dollars up-front to help pay mounting bills. If the homeowner could not qualify for the “ first option,” which virtually none could, they would be offered the “second option.” Under the latter option, an “investor” would be added to the title of the home, to whom the homeowner would make a “rental” payment of an amount allegedly less than their mortgage payment, thereby allowing the homeowner to repair their credit by having the mortgage payments made in a timely fashion. Unfortunately all of this was a scam. The defendants would recruit straw buyers as the “investors” and oftentimes these individuals would in fact replace the homeowners on the titles of the properties without the homeowners’ knowledge. These straw buyers were often friends and family members of the defendants. Once the straw buyer had title to the home, the defendants immediately applied for a mortgage to extract the maximum available equity from the home. The defendants would then share the proceeds of the ill-gotten equity and “rent” being paid by the victim homeowner. When the defendants ultimately would sell the home, stop making the mortgage payment, and/or pursue an eviction proceeding, the victim homeowner was left without their home, equity, or repaired credit.

The Scheme in Head Two:

Instead of recruiting friends and family members as straw buyers, as in Head One, in Head Two the defendants recruited strangers via the Internet. They also used referrals from mortgage brokers to identify and solicit new victim homeowners. Beyond advertising on the Internet, the defendants also would send “blast faxes” to mortgage brokers throughout the country and generate mass emails to potential victims. Through material misrepresentations and omissions, victim homeowners would be offered what appeared to be their last best chance to save their homes. Unfortunately, as in Head One, these victims also were left without their homes, equity, or repaired credit.

The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit mail fraud is five years incarceration and a fine. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit money laundering is 10 years incarceration and a fine. The maximum statutory violation for mail fraud is 20 years incarceration and a fine. The maximum statutory penalty for bank fraud is 30 years incarceration and a fine. The maximum statutory penalty for identity theft is 15 years incarceration and a fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables and any applicable statutory sentencing factors.

The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

mortgage fraud

1. I guess it is not new to think that there are many people that are like MR. Head and think thay just ahve to take advantage of so many people. its not good enough that he did it a couple of times and made some good money but when someone has to get others involved and set the industry up to fail. lets just hope that both Head one and Head two can stick and Mr. Head and the others can pay for the loses that these homeowners have taken. the unfortinate thing is that there are many of the homeowners are never going to be able to fix ther credit and never going to get into the american dream again (home ownership)

   Posted by  on  03/25  at  05:00 PM

2. MY friend was scammed by Charles Head. Even though she is no longer in title, she is still living in her home. The mortgage is being foreclosed because there were no payments. The mortgage company is EMC Mortgage Corp which we understand has gone under and was a part of the scam. The straw buyer also from California has filed bankruptcy and is out of the loop.  My friend just wants her house back.  How can she get this done?

   Posted by  on  05/27  at  08:03 PM

3. I worked for Head Financial Services in 2002-2003 and was ultimately terminated for non-performance. I can tell you that these people were making more money than the law allows legitimately. Why they felt they had to brake the law and rip people off is a question only they can answer.  The word greed comes to mind, but I don’t even think that describes what went on here. I can tell you that some of those named in the indictment like Kou Yang, Charles Head and his brother Michael were not the sort of people I would invite to dinner. They lived very decadent lives that seemed very out of control and material driven. They were like high school kids trying to out do each other. I’m so glad I was asked to leave before things got dirty. Who knows maybe they were doing illegal transactions while I was there and I didn’t even know it?  I hope and pray that the judge throws the book at these perpatrators and gives them the maximum sentence. Hard time is the only thing that these individuals will understand. Their corrupted morals and values have driven them to ruin the lives of virtually hundreds of victims. Shame on them, may God have mercy on their souls. I’m sure the devil is saving a nice little corner for them in Hell!

   Posted by  on  08/10  at  04:04 PM