James Lee Lankford, 74, Modesto, California, a former real estate broker, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to 10 years in prison for orchestrating an 11-year mortgage fraud scam that looted elderly homeowners and lending institutions of close to $10 million dollars.
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Minerva Sanchez, 47, Fremont, California, was arrested at her home for allegedly conspiring to commit bank fraud in connection with a fraudulent short-sale scheme.
David Foley, 48, Los Gatos, California, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine for engaging in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Kathryn Sylvester, San Diego, California, pleaded guilty to participating in a mortgage fraud conspiracy in which she and several co-conspirators caused more than $6 million in losses associated with various properties in San Diego County and elsewhere.
Sandra Elaine Barton, 30, Fresno, California, Christopher Spencer Barton, 31, Fresno, California, Daniel Paul Vedenoff, 29, Fresno, California, Sheldon W. Feigel, 50, Fresno, California, and Craig Merrill Mortensen, Fresno, California, were arrested and charged with 288 felony counts including perjury, filing false court records and preparing false evidence. The five individuals arrested were booked into the Fresno County Jail on bail ranging from $27,500 to $1,795,000. Cambria Lisa Barton, 21, Fresno, California, who was also charged, remains at large.
Fidencio Moreno, Arturo Moreno, and Elena Moreno were charged in a superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, eleven counts of filing a false tax return, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and seven counts of making false statements on a loan application.
Randy Lee Wilkins, 47, Gilroy, California, after a four-day trial, was found guilty by a federal jury who stayed until 5:15 p.m. to return the verdict.
Alexander A. Romaniolis, 48, Irvine, California, pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud. A federal grand jury returned the three-count indictment on March 21, 2013, charging Romaniolis with mail fraud.
Teresa Rose, Ramona, California, a real estate agent, was sentenced to 15 months in custody by U.S. District Judge John A. Houston for her role in an investment and mortgage loan fraud scheme that generated tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent loans and millions in illegal kickbacks to the participants.
Rudolph Silva, Concord, Calif., Thomas Bishop, Pleasant Hill, Calif., and Leslie Gee, Danville, Calif., three Northern California real estate investors, have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.