Christopher Paul George, Mail Fraud, California 2023

Rancho Cucamonga Trio Guilty of $7M Loan Modification Scam

A federal jury has convicted three defendants who worked at a Rancho Cucamonga business 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.

The three Southland residents found guilty of federal fraud charges were associated with 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.

The defendants found guilty today are:

• Christopher Paul George, 45, Rancho Cucamonga, a co-owner of 21th Century, who was found guilty of one count of mail fraud affecting a financial institution, three counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
• Crystal Taiwana Buck, 40, of Long Beach, a sales “closer,” who was convicted of three counts of mail fraud.
• Albert DiRoberto, 62, of Fullerton, who handled both sales and marketing – which included making a commercial for 21th Century and preparing talking points to respond to negative publicity – and who was found guilty of one count of mail fraud affecting a financial institution and two counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

As a result of today’s guilty verdicts, George faces a statutory maximum sentence of 170 years in federal prison, Buck faces a statutory maximum sentence of 60 years in federal prison, and DiRoberto faces a statutory maximum sentence of 90 years in federal prison. All three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on August 31 by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.

With today’s guilty verdicts, a total of 11 defendants linked to 21st Century have been convicted of federal fraud charges as a result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; IRS - Criminal Investigation; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General.

During an 18-month period that began in the middle of 2008, a Rancho Cucamonga woman – Andrea Ramirez, 47, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud – operated 21st Century, which defrauded financially distressed homeowners by making false promises and guarantees regarding 21st Century’s ability to negotiate loan modifications for homeowners. Employees of 21st Century made numerous misrepresentations to victims during the course of the scheme, including falsely telling victims that 21st Century was operating a loan modification program sponsored by the United States government. Victims were generally instructed to stop communicating with their mortgage lenders and to cease making their mortgage payments.

George was a co-owner of 21st Century who acted as a sales manager for the company, and ran his own sales office there for several months. George instructed 21st Century employees to make misrepresentations to distressed homeowners, including guaranteeing that 21st Century would obtain loan modifications and telling homeowners that payments made to 21st Century would go towards homeowners’ mortgages.

“Members of the conspiracy preyed upon homeowners who were in desperate financial straits by making promises they had no intention of keeping,” said Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Yonekura. “The impact on victim homeowners across the country was severe, and it’s gratifying to see justice served in this case.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/3-involved-inland-empire-loan-modification-scam-targeted-financially-distressed