Seven Orange County residents were arrested Tuesday morning and face federal fraud charges in connection with a boiler-room mortgage loan scheme that required homeowners to pay thousands in upfront fees.
A federal grand jury in Connecticut returned an indictment on:
• Aria Maleki, 33, Santa Ana;
• Serj Geuttsoyan, aka Anthony Kirk, 33, Santa Ana;
• Mehdi Moarefian, aka Michael Miller, 36, Irvine;
• Daniel Shiau, aka Scott Decker, 30, Irvine;
• Kowit Yuktanon, aka Eric Cannon, 31, Huntington Beach;
• Michelle Lefaoseu, aka Michelle Bennett, 41, Huntington Beach; and
• Cuong Huy King, aka James Nolan and Jimmy, 32, Westminster.
Federal agents also seized $350,000 from bank accounts, $362,000 from a bitcoin account, a $100,000 cashier’s check and a 2013 Ferrari 458 Italia. – Source
Some of the company names used by the alleged loan modification scammers were Green Tree Financial Group, Greentree Financial Group, Network Solutions Center, and Premiere Financial Center.
You can see more information about the complaints initiated in Connecticut, here and here.
The Orange County Register went on to say, “Prosecutors believe Maleki was the leader of an operation that began around March 2009 in which homeowners across the country were cold-called and offered loan-modification services at favorable terms in exchange for upfront fees ranging from $2,500 to $4,300 that supposedly covered closing costs and other expenses, the indictment says.
The suspects used false names and falsely told potential clients their loans had already been negotiated with lenders and that they would receive help from government programs such as the Troubled Assets Relief Program and the Home Affordable Modification Program, according to the indictment.”
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