A resident of Modesto has been indicted on charges related to an alleged real estate scam; prosecutors claim that the man stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in a variety of transactions over the course of approximately six years. The 37-year-old man had previously been indicted in Texas for his involvement in another real estate scam in which he allegedly posed as a representative of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in order to sell properties in Texas and California. The Texas scheme was allegedly worth $903,500.

According to the California indictment, the man had stolen over $360,000 from various people through more bogus real estate deals. In some instances, the man allegedly claimed to be the CEO of a land investment company while in others he claimed to be a land developer in order to convince victims to gather other investors with potential interest in flipping foreclosed properties.

The California indictment lists eight separate charges of wire fraud against the man. The supposed victims of his crimes are residents of Modesto, El Dorado Hills and Sacramento. The man allegedly produced forged documents to support his claims that he had been working with federal housing agencies in order complete property deals as he had promised the victims. Many of the victims claim to have lost tens of thousands of dollars as a result of the scam.

Any individual who is accused of wire fraud may wish to employ a criminal defense attorney as federal law provides for substantial penalties. A wire fraud conviction is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment along with hefty financial penalties.Source: Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute, "18 U.S. Code § 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television."

Source: The Modesto Bee, "Modesto man faces new real estate fraud charges", Garth Stapley, August 05, 2014