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Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Schemes Exposed
Sergio Roman Barrientos, 62, of Poway, has been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged foreclosure-rescue fraud scheme that preyed on vulnerable homeowners across California.
According to a superseding indictment, Barrientos, along with co-defendants Zalathiel Aguila, 42, of Fairfield, and Omar Anabo, 53, of Vallejo, engaged in a scheme that began in September 2004 and continued to February 2008.
The indictment alleges that Barrientos, who owned Capital Access LLC in Vallejo, and his co-defendants convinced homeowners to sign over title to their homes, which were then sold to straw buyers. The straw buyers obtained loans under fraudulent pretenses by claiming on loan applications that they intended to occupy the homes as primary residences and that no part of the down payment for the purchase was borrowed.
However, it is alleged that Capital Access provided the down payment amounts, and the straw buyers never intended to live in the properties. The defendants stripped the equity from the homes and used it to pay the operational expenses of the scheme and personal expenses.
The alleged scheme resulted in lenders losing an estimated $10.47 million from the fraud, and vulnerable homeowners across California losing their homes.
Barrientos and Aguila are charged with conspiracy to commit and the commission of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, bank fraud, and conspiracy to make and making false statements on loan applications. If convicted, they face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each count.
Anabo, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to make false statements on loan applications, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4, 2016.
The case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case.
The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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