(Source: USAO, VBA) ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five California men have been sentenced for their roles in a nationwide home loan modification scam that victimized over 400 homeowners and families, resulting in a total loss of over $3.8 million.

Roscoe Umali, 38, of Santa Ana, California, was sentenced on August 18 to 220 months in prison for leading the multi-state conspiracy.  Umali was also ordered to forfeit $3.8 million and to make approximately $1.2 million in restitution payments to the victims of his scam.

Umali pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on March 22.  According to court documents, from at least October 2012 through September 2014, Umali and his co-conspirators targeted struggling homeowners and made a series of misrepresentations to induce them to make payments of thousands of dollars each in exchange for supposed mortgage modification assistance.  The conspirators falsely held themselves out as a non-profit organization or as affiliated with a real government program, the “Home Affordable Modification Program” (HAMP), designed to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure.  In reality, however, they did nothing to help modify any mortgages.  Instead, they used the victims’ payments for their own personal benefit and to further the fraud scheme.  Many of the victims subsequently lost their homes, declared bankruptcy, and otherwise suffered serious financial and emotional consequences as a result of the scheme...