The former president of a mortgage investment company has been convicted on 100 felony counts for operating a mortgage fraud scheme throughout California that resulted in a combined loss of over $7 million.
Robert Sedlar, president of Los Angeles-based Grand View Financial LLC, was found guilty in Sacramento County Superior Court of conspiracy and multiple counts of filing a false document, grand theft, elder abuse, and prohibited acts by a foreclosure consultant, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday.
Sedlar, along with Steven J. Rogers and Audrey G. Gan, were originally charged in a 51-page indictment filed in September 2019 with conspiring to commit engaging in a prohibited act as a foreclosure consultant, procuring or offering a false or forged instrument, felony grand theft by false pretenses, and elder abuse. In all, the indictment listed 121 charges.
The victims, including the elderly and those in financial distress, were offered fraudulent mortgage relief services by Grand View. The victims were located in 11 of California’s 58 counties, including Alameda, El Dorado, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
Rogers and Gan entered guilty pleas before trial, while Sedlar proceeded to trial in March on all counts.
According to the indictment, between 2015 and 2019 the defendants conspired to steal money and homes from distressed homeowners. Their company, Grand View, advertised assistance to desperate homeowners facing foreclosure.
According to the indictment, the defendants promised consumers that if they transferred title of their house to Grand View and paid money, the company would eliminate the mortgage lien and deed the home back to the homeowner, clear of any liens.
The defendants instead filed false court documents, false documents with the county recorders offices, and false bankruptcies that stalled the foreclosures but did nothing to eliminate the liens, all while collecting money from the victims.
Every single victim lost their home as a result, Bonta said.
“Let this be a strong warning to anyone seeking to steal people’s hard-earned money: We will find you, and we will hold you accountable,” Bonta said following Sedlar’s conviction. “Individuals who prey on vulnerable communities to enrich themselves will be held accountable by the California Department of Justice. My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who disregard the rule of law.”
Sedlar is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21.
