Two Northern California Real Estate Investors Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging and Fraud Conspiracies
Mark Roemer and Bradley Roemer, two real estate investors from Northern California, have agreed to plead guilty for their role in bid rigging and fraud conspiracies at public real estate foreclosure auctions, the Antitrust Division announced.
Felony charges were filed today in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California in Oakland against the Roemer brothers.
To date, 54 individuals have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges as a result of the ongoing antitrust investigations into bid rigging and fraud at public foreclosure auctions in Northern California.
“Cynical investors who rig real estate foreclosure auctions will be held accountable for their crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Antitrust Division. “Winning auctions through fraud injures consumers and mortgage lenders by circumventing the competitive process that the antitrust laws are intended to protect.”
According to court documents, beginning as early as December 2009 and continuing until about November 2010, the defendants conspired with others not to bid against one another, and instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Alameda County.
Both defendants were also charged with conspiring to use the mail to carry out a scheme to fraudulently acquire title to selected Alameda County properties sold at public auctions, to make and receive payoffs, and to divert money to co-conspirators that would have otherwise gone to mortgage holders and other beneficiaries by holding second, private auctions open only to members of the conspiracy.
Each violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for the Sherman Act charges may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than $1 million.
The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
Related Federal Cases
- Mark Wittenmyer and Four Others Hit With 52-Count Fraud Indictment · Michigan
- Artful Dodge: Medicare Fraud Case Closed · Pennsylvania
- Tax Fixer Gets 18 Months for $1.2M Fraud Scheme · Alaska
- McKenzie Earley’s $10M Fraud Conviction · California
- Phelan Sentenced for $17.4M Loan Fraud in MD · Maryland
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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