Sergey Shchirskiy, Mortgage Fraud Scheme, California 2023

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley handed down a harsh sentence to Sergey Shchirskiy, 41, of Sacramento, for his involvement in a brazen mortgage fraud scheme that left lenders with a staggering loss of over $2.7 million.

Shchirskiy pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in each of the two mortgage fraud cases, as well as one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft in the third tax fraud case.

According to court documents, Shchirskiy was a key player in two separate mortgage fraud schemes. In the first scheme, between April 2007 and November 2007, Shchirskiy helped create fraudulent supporting documents for straw buyers to purchase properties and take out Home Equity Lines of Credit. All of the properties were foreclosed on, resulting in at least $1.5 million in losses to lenders.

In the second scheme, Shchirskiy recruited straw buyers to purchase houses based on fraudulent loan applications. The applications gave false information about the buyer’s employment, income, assets, and intention to occupy the properties. The properties were foreclosed upon and resulted in a loss of more than $1.2 million to lenders.

Shchirskiy’s crimes did not stop there. He also conspired with others to obtain false tax refunds by submitting fraudulent claims using the identities of various individuals, at least eight of which were stolen. Shchirskiy claimed Earned Income Tax Credit based on false claims of employment from California’s In-Home Supportive Services program.

Shchirskiy and his co-conspirators made approximately 80 attempts to file fraudulent tax returns, attempting to receive $661,286 in fraudulent returns from the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS ultimately issued approximately $88,728 in fraudulent refunds.

These cases were the product of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heiko Coppola and Michele Beckwith prosecuted the cases.

Shchirskiy’s sentence is a testament to the FBI and IRS’s tireless efforts to bring mortgage and tax fraud perpetrators to justice. His 7-year and 10-month prison sentence should serve as a warning to those who think they can get away with such egregious crimes.

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