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East Bay Real Estate Agent Sentenced to 6+ Years in Prison
A 70-year-old real estate agent, Robert Jacobsen, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse.
According to the plea agreement, Jacobsen admitted to creating a scheme to sell homes to unsuspecting buyers without disclosing that the homes had unpaid mortgages attached to them.
Jacobsen created a company called ‘American Brokers’ Conduit Corporation’ and used intermediaries to sue the company in court, claiming that the mortgage liens were invalid.
The court, unaware of the scheme, entered stipulated judgments declaring the mortgage liens invalid.
Jacobsen then sold the homes to unsuspecting buyers without paying off the original loans, keeping the proceeds for himself and laundering the money through multiple bank accounts in the United States and Belize.
He sold two homes, one in Danville for $540,000 and the other in San Francisco for $1.2 million, and attempted to sell a third home in Monterey for $3 million.
Jacobsen pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of engaging in monetary transactions from specified unlawful activity.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Maxine M. Chesney sentenced Jacobsen to serve 3 years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit the yacht he purchased with fraud proceeds.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, IRS-CI, and the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Kingsley, Gregg Lowder, and Meredith Osborn are prosecuting the case with assistance from Bridget Kilkenny and Beth Margen.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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