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SAN DIEGO − Attorney General Kamala D. Harris recently announced six Southern California individuals were indicted on 135 felony counts for operating a mortgage fraud scheme throughout Southern California and the Inland Empire, preying on homeowners facing foreclosure. One Fallbrook man, Marcus Robinson, was indicted in the scheme.
According to the attorney general’s office, the case is being prosecuted by attorneys in the Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, created by Harris in 2011 to prosecute mortgage fraud at every step of the process.
Jacob Orona, Aide Orona, John Contreras, Prakashumar ("Kash") Bhakta, Robinson, and David Boyd were indicted by a grand jury on 135 felony charges, including conspiracy, grand theft, filing false or forged documents, and identity theft. All six defendants were arrested last week and one defendant, Robinson, was arraigned Monday, July 11, in San Diego Superior Court.
"I created the Mortgage Fraud Task Force in 2011 to ensure that we tirelessly protect Californians struggling to stay in their homes from those who would prey upon them for profit," said Attorney General Harris. "This indictment is result of a joint effort to remain vigilant in the investigation and prosecution of those who attempt to defraud homeowners through the mortgage process. I thank our Mortgage Fraud Strike Force and California Department of Justice Special Agents, as well as our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, for their efforts on this case."
According to the attorney general’s press release, the defendants promised homeowners who were underwater on their mortgages that they could provide legal remedies to avoid foreclosure, convincing homeowners to stop making mortgage payments and instead pay them $3,500 to start with an “administrative process,” plus $1,000 every month and separate amounts to allegedly file legal documents. The defendants filed bogus petitions and court pleadings and recorded false deeds in county recorders’ offices, causing over $4 million in loses while failing to halt any foreclosures. The fraud stretched through San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles counties.
The indictment was delivered following a two-week special statewide grand jury convened in San Diego County. If convicted, Jacob and Aide Orona face over 90 years in prison; Contreras and Prakashkumar face over 70 years in prison; Robinson faces over 28 years in prison, and Boyd faces over 18 years in prison.
The arrests and arraignments are the culmination of a joint investigation by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector General (FHFAOIG), the Attorney General’s Financial Fraud and Special Prosecutions Section (FFSPS), the California Department of Justice Bureau of Investigation, and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, Real Estate Fraud Unit.
Editor's note: Robinson's family was contacted by the Village News but declined comment.
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