California Trio Indicted in $7 Million-Plus Mortgage Fraud Scheme – NMP Skip to main content

California Trio Indicted in $7 Million-Plus Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Oct 22, 2019
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a proposed stipulated final judgment to resolve its allegations in its lawsuit against California mortgage lender

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has announced the indictment and arrest of three individuals on a 121-count felony indictment for allegedly operating a mortgage fraud scheme throughout the state. The scheme resulted in a combined loss of more than $7 million. The victims, many of whom were elderly and in financial distress, sought mortgage relief services from Grand View Financial in the Counties of San Diego, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Placer, Solano, Mendocino, San Francisco, El Dorado and Sacramento.
 
The operators of Grand View Financial—Steven Rogers, Robert Sedlar and Audrey Gan—were indicted by a grand jury in the Sacramento Superior Court for conspiracy, grand theft, elder abuse, filing false or forged documents in a public office and engaging in a prohibited act as a foreclosure consultant.
 
“Individuals who prey on vulnerable communities to enrich themselves will be held accountable by the California Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Becerra. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who disregard the rule of law.”
 
Between 2015-2019, the defendants allegedly conspired to steal money and homes from distressed homeowners using a company called Grand View Financial. The company launched a mortgage and foreclosure assistance program that advertised assistance to desperate homeowners facing foreclosure. The defendants promised consumers that if they transferred their house and paid money to Grand View Financial, the company would eliminate the mortgage lien and deed the home back to the homeowner, clear of any liens. During this time, the defendants allegedly filed false court proceedings, false documents with the county recorders offices, and false bankruptcies.

 
About the author
Published
Oct 22, 2019
UAD 3.6 Deadline Nears; First American Earns Verification

First American's ACI Sky Workbench gains verification ahead of the Nov. 2 implementation date for the GSEs' updated appraisal reporting requirements

MISMO Introduces New Loan Boarding Standard

Wrapper Files support standardized data transfers between origination and servicing systems, with potential savings of $60 to $160 per loan

The GLBA Compliance Gap Your AI Deployment Just Opened

Old statutes, new models, and the vendor contract you signed before machine learning became operational

FHA Keeps Tri-Merge Credit Reports While Expanding Approved Scoring Models

HUD says FHA lenders will continue using three-bureau credit reports even as the agency adopts newer scoring models aimed at increasing competition and modernizing mortgage underwriting

House Passes Amended 21st Century Road To Housing Act

The House version softens a controversial provision aimed at large institutional investors

New York Cash-Home Tax Proposal Could Push Wealthy Buyers Back Into Mortgages

As all-cash deals surge nationwide, a proposed 1% levy on $1M+ purchases in NY may reshape jumbo lending, borrower strategy, and origination opportunities