"I'll pay $2 bucks to send guys like this away - wouldn't you?"
In the past, Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud cases in one central California town might have gone undetected or sent to federal authorities, but thanks to a two-year-old Real Estate Fraud Unit funded by a $2 surcharge on every real estate transaction recorded, Modesto, California, is cracking down on the bad guys at a higher rate than ever before. Case in point: The Stanislaus County district attorney’s office recently filed a 68-count criminal complaint against three real estate agents and seven others.The three are accused of stealing more than $2 million from lenders by filing false documents with Stanislaus County’s clerk-recorder’s office, indicating that loans on three properties had been paid–all so straw buyers could secure new loans, then cash out with the illegally obtained proceeds.
Real estate agent Eric Charles Braun, 29, of Modesto is charged with 63 felonies. He is accused of masterminding the scheme with Noah Yates, who handled the paperwork while Braun did the legwork.
Real estate agent Noah Adam Yates, 29, of Modesto is charged with 53 felonies. He is accused of having a home full of computers used to create fraudulent documents and a Web site that said people legally can eliminate their mortgages.
Jearod Miles Robinson, 34, of Ceres is charged with 18 felonies. He is accused of acting as a straw buyer in a mortgage elimination scheme run by his cousin, Braun, who never paid Robinson $100,000 as promised.
Real estate agent Doug Eugene Wallick, 32, of Waterford is charged with 15 felonies. He is accused of using a Modesto home he owned in a mortgage elimination scheme with Yates and Braun.
Darin Eric Abell, 41, of Turlock is charged with nine felonies. He and his wife are accused of using a Turlock home he owned in a mortgage elimination scheme with Braun and Yates.
Dawna Lea Abell, 38, of Turlock is charged with nine felonies. She and her husband are accused of using a Turlock home he owned in a mortgage elimination scheme with Braun and Yates.
Elizabeth Marcela Ayhens, 24, of Stockton is charged with two felonies. She is accused of forging names on real estate documents and receiving $1,000 from Yates.
Nicholas Matthew Ayhens, 24, of Modesto is charged with two felonies. He is accused of using forged names on real estate documents and receiving $20,000 from Yates.
Arnold Vergara Rodriguez, 32, of Modesto is charged with two felonies. He is accused of receiving $50,000 for referring Braun to a lender who was targeted in a fraudulent scheme.
Brian William Heytz, 32, of Ceres is charged with one felony. He is accused of attempting to defraud a lender by making false representations while trying to purchase a home from Wallick and Yates.
