Scammer Gets 12 Years For Running Mortgage Elimination Racket That Purported To Invalidate Loans Through Lawsuits Against Lienholders

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (San Francisco, California):

• Sergio Gutierrez was sentenced [] to twelve years in federal prison after a jury convicted him of running a scheme in which he defrauded victims by telling them to stop paying their mortgages, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

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• Gutierrez defrauded investors by falsely telling them that they would be able to own their homes outright if they paid him for documents that he claimed would dispute the validity of their mortgages that various banks held on their properties.
  
  The lawsuits filed by the victims were dismissed by various courts throughout California, and most of the victims ended up losing their homes through foreclosure. Gutierrez’s purported mortgage elimination program specifically targeted victims who had little or no ability to read or write English. From 2008 to 2009, Gutierrez received more than $89,000 from individual victims who paid him for this program.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see San Francisco Man Sentenced To 12 Years In Federal Prison For Orchestrating Mortgage Fraud Scheme.