California Woman Wins Race To Prosecutor's Office; Cops Plea In Upfront Fee Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Agrees To Testify Against Two Alleged Co-Scammers

In Monterey County, California, the Salinas Californian reports:

• One of three defendants in a Gonzales foreclosure scam made a plea deal Friday to charges including felony conspiracy to defraud, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said. All three defendants were accused of scamming more than 55 people in Monterey County of at least $100,000.

• Maria de Lourdes Ponce of Gonzales and Santa Cruz residents Fabian Olivares Casillas and Melissa Garcia were arrested in August, said John Hubank, a deputy district attorney with the consumer and environmental protection unit, on suspicion of taking thousands of dollars from homeowners after promising to save their homes from foreclosure.

Source: Plea deal in foreclosure scams against 55 Monterey County residents.

See also, The Monterey County Herald: Guilty plea in fraud case.

For the Monterey County DA's press release announcing the original charges, see District Attorney files felony charges filed against foreclosure scam artists.

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