Realty World Tri-Shasta

Recently the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office sent out a press release regarding their Real Estate Fraud Unit. This press replease discussed the annual report, the fees collected, the number of complaints received, its

District Attorney Jerry Benito

 public relations, and the most common scams.

The Real Estate Fraud unit was formed last summer and upon The Board of Supervisors approving the new program, they also approved for it to be funded through the fees collected through certain real estate documents that were recorded through the assessor’s office.

The total amount of fees that were collected over the fiscal year totaled more then $80,000. Ten percent of that amount went to the Assessor’s-Recorder’s office to reimburse them for incured expenses, the remaining $80,000 was given to the investigation postition at the District Attorney’s Office.

Since the beginning, even a little bit before, the creation of this department, right around 66 calls of complaints have been received. Some cases have lead to criminal prosecution, some have been referred to other jurisdictions (where the case joined to other cases against the same suspect who was already under investigation within that jurisdiction or had already been prosecuted within that juridiction), some have been referred to the California Department of Real Estate based on the unethical behavior of realtors, and some in some other cases the investigator intervened on behalf of local citizens and was able to recover money that was paid to loan modification companies.

The public outreach programs that the Real Estate Fraud Unit have been involved in are: Press releases, radio appearances, and presentations to groups. The District Attorney Jerry Benito has also met with U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner to coordinate efforts related to mortgage fraud here in the Shasta County area.

There are two scams that have been the most common – Nigerian Rent Scams and Loan Modification Scams.

The Nigerian Rent Scam is where criminals in Nigeria surf the Internet for homes that are for sale. They then take the information regarding that listing and create a rental ad for that same property. The Nigerian claims that they

District Attorney Investigator Bob Angulo

are out of the area for work, offers to rent the property, and requests a deposit. After the interested party sends them the deposit, they then learn that the property is not for rent – not even owned by the person they were dealing with.

The Loan Modification Scam is where a company offers to assist troubled homeowners to modify their home loan. These companies will often request an upfront fee to perform their services – many of these companies are out-of-state. After sending of the fee the homeowner may see delays, little work, never see a modification, and they will not see their money paid upfront. Under California law, loan modification companies are not allowed to charge an upfront fee. It is also important to know that even while working with a loan modification company, your home is still at risk for foreclosure. Remain in close contact with your lender during the loan modification.

Shasta County District Attorney Investigator Robert Angulo, who is located in the Real Estate fraud division, sent me an email this morning regarding foreclosure stripping. During one of his various presentations he does a question was asked of him regarding foreclosure stripping, upon conducting some research he discovered that there are in fact two California Penal Code sections that may be applicable in regards to a person who has stripped their house of appliances and fixtures after the property has been foreclosed on.

Here are the two California Penal Codes:

PC 154. (a) Every debtor who fraudulently removes his or her property or effects out of this state, or who fraudulently sells, conveys, assigns or conceals his or her property with intent to defraud, hinder, or delay his or her creditors of their rights, claims, or demands, is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b) Where the property so removed, sold, conveyed, assigned, or concealed consists of a stock in trade, or a part thereof, of a value exceeding one hundred dollars ($100), the offense shall be a felony punishable as such.

PC 155. (a) Every person against whom an action is pending, or against whom a judgment has been rendered for the recovery of any personal property, who fraudulently conceals, sells, or disposes of that property, with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud the person bringing the action or recovering the judgment, or with such intent removes that property beyond the limits of the county in which it may be at the time of the commencement of the action or the rendering of the judgment, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b) Where the property so concealed, sold, disposed of, or removed consists of a stock trade, or part thereof, of a value exceeding one hundred dollars ($100), the offense shall be a felony and punishable as such.

Mr. Angulo further told me that the Lender/Bank needs to be the reporting party, as they are the victim. What would help the case even more is if there are photos of the property showing that the appliances and fixtures where in the home prior to the property being foreclosed upon. An example of this would be prior listing photos where the items are apparent in the photo.

As many of you may or may not know, the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office opened a new investigation branch – Real Estate fraud. Investigator Robert Angulo has been at the fore front of these investigations and was dealing with calls before the new branch ever officially opened up to the general public. One of the issues they have been dealing with involve foreclosures. Following is a link that discusses the steps Shasta County is taking to help with the scam.
 http://www.khsltv.com/content/localnews/…

Fraud is a big deal right now in the Real Estate world, for both the sales portion as well as property management. It is so important now a days to be aware of what is going on. An article was written in the Anderson Valley Post regarding rental fraud, I felt this information was important to share (especially since this is close to home).

Rental fraud scam alive in Shasta County warns District Attorney June 17, 2009

Numerous complaints of possible rental fraud scams involving falsely advertised rental homes on the Internet site Craig’s List were received by the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office, according to D.A. Investigator Bob Angulo in a June 9 press release.

The ads provide an address of the property to be rented, a brief description of the property, monthly rental amount and an e-mail address to contact the person.

When you respond to the ad, the person will advise that the rental is available but the person is out of the country in Africa. The person will provide you a reason for being out of the country and tell you a little history about the house to be rented.

The person will then provide you a name and an overseas telephone number. The name provided is usually a real person who is not connected with the rental property. The name used could be a real estate agent, contractor or any person found on the Internet. The person may send you a rental contract, ask you for a security deposit and/or first month’s rent and requestt that you send it to an overseas Post Office Box.

When looking for rental property, use a property management company whose broker is a member of the California Department of Real Estate or an attorney who is a member of the State Bar of California. If you are looking to rent property from the owner, personally meet the owner at the property to be rented. Ask for identification and record that information. Record the owner’s vehicle license plate. Do not provide your personal information over the internet as it could be used for the purpose of identity theft.

For questions, contact Angulo at 245-6350.