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…

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 (…

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…

LOS ANGELES – United States Attorney Bill Essayli today announced the formation of the Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force, which will investigate fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption involving funds allocated toward the eradication of homelessness within the seven-county jurisdiction of the Central District of California.This task force will be comprised of federal prosecutors from the Major Frauds Section, the Public Corruption and…

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…

Tjoman Buditaslim, Travis Holasek, Jose Alfonso Tellez, and Jose De Jesus Martinez are Alleged to Have Prepared and Submitted Fraudulent Loan Applications Resulting in More than $55 Million in Residential MortgagesSAN FRANCISCO - A federal grand jury has indicted Tjoman Buditaslim (a/k/a “Joe Lim”), Travis Holasek, Jose Alfonso Tellez, and Jose De Jesus Martinez, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in…

A California real estate executive pleaded guilty yesterday to engaging in an extensive multi-year conspiracy to falsify financial statements. According to court documents, Tyler Ross, 37, formerly of Michigan, served as co-chief executive officer of ROCO Real Estate LLC and ROCO Management LLC, both of which are based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The ROCO companies, and related entities, operated as a commercial real estate firm engaged in…

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Gregory Finkelson with conspiracy, theft of government property, and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Special Agent in Charge Mark Kaminsky, and IRS-Criminal Investigation…

PROVIDENCE – A North Providence woman convicted of defrauding multiple publicly-funded programs was sentenced on Tuesday to eighteen months in federal prison for making false statements when applying for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage, a Small Business Association (SBA) loan, and for fraudulently applying for government-funded COVID unemployment benefits, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. In March 2022…

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the sentencing of a Los Angeles broker, who was involved in a mortgage loan fraud scheme in Southern California. The broker, Alex Ashod Dadourian, defrauded lenders by using forged documents and fraudulent records to obtain more than $8 million in mortgage loans for his clients in order to earn commissions for himself. Today, he was convicted on 91 felony counts of mortgage…

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment against German Antonio Lopez-Velasquez, 55, of Modesto; Marko Antonio Lopez, 27, of Modesto; and Lisa Marie Santos, 48, of Long Beach, charging them with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Lopez-Velasquez was also charged with witness tampering. He is alleged to have attempted to persuade an individual to make false…

PROVIDENCE – A North Providence woman today admitted in federal court that she provided false information to a mortgage lender when applying for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage, and that she fraudulently applied for a COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and unemployment insurance benefits under both the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)…

PROVIDENCE – A former bookkeeper/office manager who admitted to embezzling more than $740,000 from a Rhode Island law firm that employed her, fraudulently collecting nearly $20,000 in temporary disability insurance payments, and filing fraudulent documents when applying for a mortgage from a Rhode Island bank, was sentenced today to five years in federal prison. According to court documents, Sarah Gaulin, 39, a former employee of the law firm…

PROVIDENCE – A Johnston-based real estate investment firm, the company’s founder, and a person who held himself out to be a negotiator on behalf of financially distressed homeowners but who was, in reality, associated with the real estate investment firm, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges they participated in a series of schemes to defraud homeowners and financial institutions. It is alleged in the indictment that members…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The mastermind of a mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded financially distressed homeowners, investors, and financial institutions of nearly $1.5 million dollars was sentenced today to more than 13 years in federal prison. Hasan Hussain, 57, of Princeton, N.J., masterminded a scheme that defrauded distressed homeowners, investors, and financial institutions of fees, rental income, mortgage payment funds, property ownership…