DEFENDANT IN $4M MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME GETS PRISON

The last of six defendants who admitted roles in a $4 million mortgage fraud scheme was sentenced Wednesday to more than seven years in prison, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
The scheme preyed on people trying to save their homes from foreclosure, and included filing fraudulent documents, such as false bankruptcies and false court filings, the office said in a news release.
It involved homes in San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Each of the defendants, including one from Fallbrook, received prison sentences ranging between four to nearly eight years. The case was filed in San Diego Superior Court after a grand jury handed up a 135-count indictment in 2016.
According to state prosecutors, the defendants convinced homeowners they could provide legal help to save their homes. The homeowners laid out $3,500 to start the process, then paid $1,000 a month and also paid fees for filing legal documents.
Officials said the defendants then filed fraudulent documents, including false bankruptcies and false court filings. The scam, officials said in the release, “defrauded lenders and other owners of their rightful possession of the residential properties.”
On Wednesday in San Diego, defendant Prakashumar “Kash” Bhakta was sentenced to seven years, eight months in custody. The 51-year-old Fontana man pleaded guilty in November to 113 charges, including conspiracy, grand theft and filing false or forged documents, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The other defendants — Jacob Orona and Aide Orona of Highland, John Contreras of San Jose, Marcus Robinson of Fallbrook, and David Boyd of Inglewood — had previously pleaded guilty to roles in the scheme. Their state prison terms ranged from four years to seven years and four months, the Attorney General’s office said.
In announcing the sentencing, Attorney General Becerra said his office has “zero tolerance for scam artists who cheat vulnerable families by stealing their life savings and shattering their dreams of owning a home.”
“Today’s sentence should serve as a reminder: if you prey on hardworking Americans and betray their trust, my office will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Becerra said.
San Diego Union-Tribune