We audited the City of Huntington Park's (City) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) due to an increased emphasis on HUD Office of Community Planning and Development programs and recent HUD monitoring and financial audit reports that identified problems with the City's overall management and administration of its HOME program. Our objectives were to determine whether the conditions identified in the HUD monitoring and single…

SAN FRANCISCO – Tjoman Buditaslim, Jose De Jesus Martinez, and Jose Alfonso Tellez were sentenced today to 24 months, 14 months, and 12 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in a mortgage fraud conspiracy.  The sentences were handed down by the Honorable Charles R. Breyer, Senior U.S. District Judge.Buditaslim, 52, of San Francisco, Martinez, 59, of Daly City, Tellez, 27, of San Jose, and a fourth defendant, Travis Holasek…

LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the unsealing of a grand jury indictment against the owners of three mortgage brokerage firms and 11 affiliates in a mortgage fraud scheme. Fraudulent loan applications and financial documentation were allegedly used to obtain eight loans totaling $3.69 million. The fraudulent loans were then used by unsuspecting borrowers to purchase properties located in the counties of…

Defendant Allegedly Misrepresented He Was in the Military to Obtain Additional Pay and BenefitsSAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury indicted Omar Naziry, a former employee of a global security and aerospace company, with mail fraud for falsely representing he was in the military to obtain pay and benefits.  The defendant made his initial appearance in the Northern District of California on Sept. 25, 2024.According to an indictment filed…

A California real estate executive was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $200,000 for engaging in an extensive multi-year conspiracy to falsify financial statements.According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Tyler Ross, 38, of San Francisco, and formerly of Michigan, served as co-chief executive officer of ROCO Real Estate LLC and…

Defendant Falsely Claimed Eligibility for Housing VouchersSAN FRANCISCO – Gregory Finkelson was sentenced to one year in prison for theft of government property in connection with his fraudulent receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars in low-income housing benefits, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development…

The City of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $38.2 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly failed to meet federal accessibility requirements when it sought and used Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funds for multifamily affordable housing.HUD provides grant funds to Los Angeles and other cities to support housing and community development, including building and rehabilitating affordable multifamily housing units.…

Defendant Admitted His Role in a Scheme to Fraudulently Originate More Than $55 Million in Residential Mortgages Using Fake Documents to Fraudulently Boost Loan Applicant IncomeSAN FRANCISCO – Tjoman Buditaslim pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco yesterday to wire fraud conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey; Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Western Region…

FRESNO, Calif. — German Antonio Lopez-Velasquez, 55, of Modesto, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.According to court documents, German Antonio Lopez-Velasquez, a real estate agent, worked with Lisa Santos, 48, of Long Beach, a mortgage loan officer, and Marko Antonio Lopez, 27, of Modesto, a real estate agent and notary public, to obtain fraudulent mortgage loans for properties…

Defendant Admitted He Lied on Government Forms and Wrongfully Claimed Eligibility for Housing Assistance for More Than a DecadeSAN FRANCISCO – Gregory Finkelson, a San Francisco resident, has pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property in connection with his fraudulent receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars in low-income housing benefits, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Robert Kirby Wells, 64, of Woodland, was sentenced today to two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.According to court documents, Wells served as an insurance broker for a company located in Denver, Colorado, that owned multifamily and commercial properties throughout the United States. Wells was responsible for obtaining several types of insurance coverage for the…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Robert Kirby Wells, 64, of Woodland, pleaded guilty today to one count of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.According to court documents, Wells served as an insurance broker for a company located in Denver, Colorado, that owned multifamily and commercial properties throughout the United States. Wells was responsible for obtaining several types of insurance coverage for the company’s…