Melvin T. Bell, 37, aka “Alex Crown,” “Minister Bey,” “Sovereign King Bey,” “King Bey,” and “S.K. Bey,” Monica Hernandez, 43, a former licensed real estate broker, and Carlos Rayas, 39, Aurora, Illinois, who operated Washington National Trust, an licensed trust and/or mortgage company, are facing federal fraud charges for allegedly swindling approximately $220,000 from at least 54 homeowners after falsely promising to save their homes from foreclosure and lower their monthly mortgage payments. Both Bell and Hernandez were last known to reside in Oswego, Illinois.
Adorean Boleancu, 47, Napa, California, was sentenced to 20 months in prison and ordered to pay $360,199.25 in restitution for a wire fraud offense.
Thomas Franklin Tarbutton, 54, Newport Beach, California, a fugitive hard money lender, has been extradited back to Orange County from Panama for embezzling nearly $3 million from investors in a Ponzi real estate fraud scheme.
Ronald Frank Muise, 51, and his son, Michael Derek Muise, 28, both of Las Vegas, Nevada, have been convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in connection with a telemarketing fraud scheme that spanned almost five years and victimized approximately 1,000 people.
Florence Fung, Sacramento, California, and Michael Navone, San Rafael, California, two real estate investors, have agreed to plead guilty to their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.
Steven Pelz, 40, Wichita, Kansas, has been sentenced in a mortgage fraud case involving 6 other defendants.
Darren David Chaker, 41, Beverly Hills, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of bankruptcy fraud.
Michael Rumore, 55, Toms River, New Jersey, and Kenneth Jones, 64, Elizabeth, New Jersey, an attorney and a tax preparer, respectively, admitted their roles in a long-running, large-scale mortgage fraud that caused losses of more than $30 million.
David Crisp, 34, and his wife Jennifer Anne Crisp, 31, both of San Diego, California, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges stemming from their involvement in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that ran from January 2004 to September 2007.
Blair Christopher Hanloh, 50, Long Beach, California, was sentenced to four years in state prison for recording false quitclaim deeds on several residential properties as part of an elaborate scheme to possess and rent out properties valued at over $3.5 million.