LOS ANGELES: Ten people were indicted Friday in a $20 million real estate scam in the western state of California, the US Justice Department said.
In a 56-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Fresno, California, the suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit bank, mail and wire fraud, and with individual counts of mail fraud, US Attorney Benjamin Wagner said.
According to the indictment, the defendants "perpetrated a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders by submitting fraudulent loan applications," including lies about applicant's income and assets.
The defendants allegedly perpetrated the scheme from early 2004 to September 2007 by selling a single home multiple times (flipping homes), as well as making a series of fraudulent transactions to the fraud's victims, fake buyers and others in a bid to artificially inflate the home prices.
They usually increased loan amounts and used nearly 100 percent financing in a bid to get inflated equity amounts from the properties each time clients sought financing.
FBI agents investigated the case with help from the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the auspices of President Barack Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
The maximum penalty for the conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud counts is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, while the maximum money laundering penalty is 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
"The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," the statement read.
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