California Authorities Bag Five Suspects In Alleged Foreclosure Rescue Scam That Bilked 100s Of SoCal Homeowners; Both Criminal, Civil Charges Brought

In Southern California, The Associated Press reports:

• Hundreds of homeowners lost the deeds to their houses and small fortunes in a scam that masqueraded as a strategy to help them avoid foreclosure, authorities said Thursday. Troubled homeowners most of them Hispanic immigrants in San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties were lured to foreclosure rescue seminars and conned into signing over title to their homes with the purpose of establishing their property as a federal land grant.

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• Late Wednesday, FBI and investigators from the San Diego County district attorney's office arrested William Hutchings, 62, and Xiaoke Li, 43, both of San Diego; Edgar Martinez, 30, and Diego Gil, 38. It was not immediately clear where they lived. An arrest warrant was also issued for Shawna Landis, 29, of Sorrento Valley. All face multiple counts of conspiracy, grand theft and deceitful practices as foreclosure consultants, authorities said. Prosecutors have also taken steps to freeze the defendants' assets and bank accounts, while [California Attorney General Jerry] Brown's office on Thursday sought an injunction and penalties against the company through which the scam was operated.

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• Homeowners who attended the foreclosure rescue seminars were told that they could keep lenders from taking over their properties if they signed over the grant deeds on their homes to one of the corporations, which then would record a land grant on the property, according to court documents. Some homeowners who fell for the scam paid up to $10,000 to place their home in a land grant. Others paid at least $500 up front and then made monthly rent payments to continue living in the property, authorities said.

For more, see Feds arrest four Calif. people, claim they conned homeowners.

See also:

• The Press Enterprise: Arrests cap land grant probe,
• San Diego County District Attorney press release: Home Foreclosure Rescue Scam Ring Broken Up, Leaving Approximately 400 Victims,
• KFMB-TV Channel 8: Five Accused In Home Foreclosure Scam Plead Not Guilty ("Martinez and Gil were arrested as they were giving a presentation to more than 50 prospective victims, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said").

For more on the civil charges brought by the California Attorney General, see:

• Complaint - People v. FLG Company LLC, et al.,
• Memorandum of Points and Authorities (detailed narrative of alleged scheme, including citations to the applicable California law relating to issuing preliminary injunctions),
• AG Press Release (describes the alleged "federal land grant" scam; used seminars, which had up to 50 participants, to lure homeowners into lease back schemes in which the homeowners deeded over their property and then made monthly payments, purportedly for rent).