Archives For California

Man Pleads Guilty To Homeowner Relief Fraud

Stephanie Abbott —  May 7, 2019 — Leave a comment

Eliseo Delgado Jr., 40, Corona, California plead guilty on Monday to federal charges for fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of dollars in mortgage assistance benefits under the portion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) intended for homeowners hardest hit by the 2007-09 economic downturn.

Delgado made the first known guilty plea by an individual to fraud charges regarding TARP’s mortgage assistance program.

According to court documents, in November 2014, Delgado knowingly submitted a false application for homeowner relief benefits under the Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program (UMA).

Delgado’s November 2014 application for homeowner relief benefits fraudulently stated that Delgado’s income had been reduced because of unemployment. In a “hardship letter” in support of his application for UMA benefits, Delgado wrote, “I have lost my job…I fell behind on my mortgage payments in 01/01/2014, earlier this year due to lack of income.” In fact, from 2009 to 2016, Delgado was self-employed at various businesses he had founded, and at no point was he unemployed. In total, Delgado fraudulently received $52,373 in UMA benefits from January 2015 until June 2016 – 18 months, the maximum length of time permissible under the program, according to court documents.

UMA was a federally funded program under TARP that was administered in California by the California Housing Finance Authority’s Mortgage Assistance Corporation under the name “Keep Your Home California.” The program was designed to help homeowners by providing temporary mortgage assistance to eligible low-to moderate-income homeowners who became unemployed. Congress passed TARP to stabilize the nation’s financial system during the financial crisis of 2008. In 2010, using TARP money, Congress established the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), to provide targeted aid to families in states hit hard by the economic and housing market downturn.

United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal has scheduled an October 28, 2019 sentencing hearing, where Delgado faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by SIGTARP and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Weir of the Riverside Branch Office.

About SIGTARP

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) is a federal law enforcement agency that targets crime at financial institutions or in TARP housing programs and is an independent watchdog protecting the interests of the America people. SIGTARP investigations have resulted in the recovery of $10 billion and 278 defendants sentenced to prison.

To report a suspected crime related to TARP, call SIGTARP’s Crime Tip Hotline: 1-877-744-2009. To receive alerts about reports, audits, media releases, and other SIGTARP news, sign up at

www.SIGTARP.gov. Follow SIGTARP on Twitter @SIGTARP.

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42 Months in Warehouse Theft Scheme

Rachel Dollar —  December 14, 2015 — Leave a comment

Brady Bunte was sentenced to 42 months in prison today, by Chief District Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr.,   and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,689,587 for devising a scheme to defraud National City Bank of $12,744,678 of money under its control, by submitting fraudulent funding requests for nonexistent mortgage loans.

In 2007 and 2008, Brady Bunte owned and operated Trust One Mortgage, a mortgage lender located in Orange County, California.  Trust One Mortgage funded mortgages by maintaining a warehouse line of credit with various banks, including National City Bank.  National City Bank was a federally insured financial institution.  Its warehouse lending offices were located in Louisville, Kentucky.  Continue Reading…

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Guilty Verdict Follows 16 Day Federal Trial

Rachel Dollar —  December 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Vera Kuzmenko, 45, Loomis, California and Rachel Siders, 40, Roseville, California, were found guilty by a federal jury after a 16 day trial of multiple counts of mail and wire fraud associated with their involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme that cost financial institutions over $16 million.

Vera Kuzmenko was also found guilty of witness tampering and money laundering associated with the scheme.

According to evidence presented at trial, from late 2006 through early 2008, the defendants engaged in a mortgage fraud scheme involving over 30 properties in the Sacramento, California, area. The defendants were responsible for securing more than $30 million in residential mortgage loans on more than 30 homes purchased through straw buyers. Records introduced at trial showed Vera Kuzmenko received millions of dollars and Rachel Siders received hundreds of thousands of dollars. Continue Reading…

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18 Years in Prison for Mortgage Modification Scam

Rachel Dollar —  December 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Andrea Ramirez, 47, Rancho Cucamonga, California was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $6,764,743 in restitution for orchestrating a scheme that offered bogus loan modification programs to thousands of financially distressed homeowners who lost more than $7 million when they paid for services that were never provided.

Ramirez was the founder, co-owner and organizer of a telemarketing operation known under a series of names – including 21st Century Legal Services, Inc. – that bilked more than 4,000 homeowners across the nation, many of whom lost their homes to foreclosure. Ramirez was sentenced today after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.

“This fraudulent company purposely targeted homeowners who were extremely vulnerable because they were facing foreclosure,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Ramirez and her co-defendants made false promises to desperate homeowners, often took the last of their money and then abandoned them. Her contempt for her victims will put her in federal prison for nearly two decades.” Continue Reading…

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False Statements on Loan Applications Gets Four Years

Rachel Dollar —  November 30, 2015 — 2 Comments

Ryan Costo, 40, Roseville, California, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for bank fraud in a scheme to defraud lenders.

According to court documents, Costo overstated his income and financial assets in connection with a $1.35 million loan from Bank of America related to the acquisition of a classic aircraft. Costo not only made false statements about his income and various bank and stock account balances on the loan application, but also caused various false and fraudulent account statements and tax returns to be given to the Bank of America in order to procure the loan. Costo made various false representations and submitted false documents to obtain three other loans: a $1.95 million loan from CitiMortgage Inc. related to a Granite Bay, California residence; a $3 million loan from Washington Mutual Bank, now Chase, related to another Granite Bay, California residence, and a $267,000 loan from San Diego Private Bank. Costo pleaded guilty to bank fraud on October 3, 2013.

United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced Costo.  The case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Shelley D. Weger prosecuted the case.

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Loan Modification Fraudster Sentenced

Rachel Dollar —  November 19, 2015 — 5 Comments

Brian Kandefer, 37, San Diego, California, was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $1.4 million dollars in restitution after his guilty plea to wire fraud and money laundering.

According to documents in the case, K2 Capital Management Inc. did business as US Mortgage Bailout and USMortgageBailout.com with physical offices located in La Jolla, California.  Brian Kandefer was a 50% owner of K2 Capital Management Inc. dba US Mortgage Bailout and dba USMortgageBailout.com.  Continue Reading…

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Guilty Verdicts in Builder Bailout Scheme

Rachel Dollar —  November 13, 2015 — Leave a comment

Edward Khalfin, 58, San Mateo, California was found guilty by a federal jury of 12 counts of mail fraud and 11 counts of making false statements on loan applications. Robin Dimiceli, 53, Brentwood, California was found guilty by a federal jury of six counts of mail fraud and six counts of making false statements on loan applications.  The convictions arise out of a builder bailout scheme that provided financial incentives to straw buyers to get them to purchase homes that developers were having difficulty selling

According to court documents, from August 2006 through May 2008, two brothers, Volodymyr Dubinsky, 56, formerly of Folsom, California, and Leonid Doubinski, 50, formerly of Copperopolis, California, built, developed, and sold real estate in Carmichael, California, Sacramento, California, and Copperopolis, California. As the real estate market declined, the brothers recruited family members, employees, and associates with good credit to act as straw buyers for residential properties. The Dubinsky brothers have not been apprehended and are fugitives thought to be residing in Ukraine. Continue Reading…

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Mortgage Broker Sentenced for False Loan Application Statements

Rachel Dollar —  November 5, 2015 — 1 Comment

Valeri Kalyuzhnyy, 44, Citrus Heights, California, was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

On June 25, 2015, Kalyuzhnyy pleaded guilty to making a false statement on a loan application. According to court documents, Kalyuzhnyy, while working as a mortgage broker, bought two homes using the credit information of a straw buyer. The loan applications that were used to secure the properties contained numerous false statements regarding the buyer’s intent to occupy the property, employer, occupation, and monthly income. In order to support the inflated monthly income listed on the loan application, fraudulent tax returns were submitted. On July 17, 2007, Kalyuzhnyy gave the straw buyer a check for $29,000.

United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced Kalyuzhnyy. The case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jared C. Dolan prosecuted the case.

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Sentencing in Straw Buyer Fraud

Rachel Dollar —  November 5, 2015 — Leave a comment

Sean McClendon, 49, Elk Grove, California, was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison.

On October 18, 2012, McClendon pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit mail fraud for his involvement in a Sacramento, California area mortgage fraud scheme with Anthony Salcedo and Anthony Williams. According to court documents, McClendon and Williams recruited straw buyers to purchase four properties owned by Salcedo or his associates using kickbacks, false financial information for the buyers, and payments outside of escrow.

All properties involved were foreclosed by the lenders, resulting in losses of over $1 million.

In June 2015, a jury found Salcedo guilty of four counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 12, 2015. On January 29, 2015, Williams was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.

United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced McClendon.  The case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jean M. Hobler and Marilee Miller are prosecuting the case.

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Sentencing in California Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Rachel Dollar —  November 5, 2015 — 1 Comment

Stephen Pirt, 37, Mountain House, California, was sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison for his participation in a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme. According to evidence presented at the trial for co-defendant Erik Hermann Green, 33, Roseville, California, Pirt and Green defrauded the New Century Mortgage Company by submitting false documentation about borrowers’ employment, income and assets, including fraudulent loan applications and other altered bank documents. On September 19, 2013, Stephen Pirt pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley told Pirt, “you were an organizer and leader of the scheme, and you need to be punished for that.”   The judge also explained the need for a proper deterrent effect.

Green is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Nunley on November 19, 2015. Green faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Anderson and Special Assistant United States Attorney Josh F. Sigal are prosecuting the case.

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