Fraud Crime

It was recently reported in the Daily Journal that a Northern California homebuilder, Anthony Symmes, 59, has agreed to plead guilty to charges that he artificially inflated the prices of 62 new homes as part of a mortgage fraud scheme. Symmes acknowledged he sold homes to an unlicensed mortgage broker when housing prices began to fall in late 2006.

That broker was Garret Griffith Gililland, who fled the country and was arrested in Spain. Gililland is awaiting trial and has plead not guilty to 24 charges alleging he participated in a $100 million mortgage fraud ring in California and other states.

Gililland allegedly approached Symmes in the fall of 2006 and offered to buy the homes using a network of so-called straw buyers. The pair agreed to raise the home prices between $40,000 to $60,000 with Gililland pocketing some of the extra cash and paying back his investors.

Mortgage fraud is the intentional misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission by an applicant of a loan or other interested parties, relied on by a lender or underwriter to provide funding for, to purchase, or to insure a mortgage loan. The straw buyer will take out a loan to purchase a home with an inflated price. The broker pockets the profit from the inflation. The home forecloses and the bank is left with the inflated mortgage.

It was estimated that lenders lost $5 million from Symmes’ homes. Thirty eight of his homes foreclosed and ten of them were short sold.

Symmes plead guilty to one count of mail fraud which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He also plead guilty to one count of money laundering which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Symmes has paid $4 million in restitution to the U.s. Treasury as part of his plea agreement. He has agreed to cooperate in the Gililland investigation.

Mail fraud is committed when someone devises a scheme to defraud, or to obtain money or property through false or fraudulent pretenses and uses the Postal Service to execute this scheme. The punishment for committing mail fraud is a fine, or imprisonment in federal prison for up to 20 years, or both the fine and imprisonment. See 18 U.S.C. § 1341.

If you or a loved one is facing a federal fraud charge, it is important that you speak with an experience federal law attorney. At Wallin & Klarich, our attorneys have over 30 years of experience in handling federal crimes. We will provide you with the quality representation you deserve. Our attorneys will aggressively fight to defend your rights. Call Wallin & Klarich today at (888) 280-6839 or contact us through our website at www.wklaw.com. We will be there when you call.

If you write a bounced check in California, you can be criminally prosecuted. Under California Penal Code Section 476(a), it is a crime to write a check knowing that you have insufficient funds and the intent to defraud.

If the prosecution can prove that you knowingly wrote a bad check with the intent to deceive another person out of money or property, you will be convicted. This crime does not require proof that you fabricated a false check or wrote false information. The crime is completed the minute you knowingly write a check for an amount you did not actually have.

A knowledgeable criminal defense attorney can raise certain defenses on your behalf. Depending on the facts of your case, a defense attorney can argue that you did not have the necessary intent to defraud because you reasonably believed that there would be sufficient funds to pay for the check amount. Again, depending on your facts, a defense attorney may also present evidence that you had informed the person receiving the check that you had insufficient funds, thus negating any intent to defraud. Without proof that you had the intent to defraud, the charge will likely be dismissed.

Bad check penalties can include a jail sentence of up to 3 years in state prison if the offense was charged as a felony. You will incur a bad check felony charge if the dollar amount of the check (or checks) you wrote exceeded $450. Any amount less than that will incur a misdemeanor charge, which brings with it a maximum jail sentence of 1 year in county jail.

If you would like to learn more, go to www.wklaw.com and read our “Bad Check” section. There you will find quick and relevant information about what options are available to you if you find yourself charged with writing a bad check.

At Wallin & Klarich, our criminal defense attorneys are well-versed in bad check laws and can help in your defense against bad check charges. We have over 30 years of experience handling bad check cases in California. Allow us to use our skill and knowledge to help you in your case. Call us today at 888-749-0034 or visit us online at www.wklaw.com. We will be there when you call.

It was recently reported that a former California State Bar employee was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay $900,000 in restitution for stealing $675,000 from the agency.

Sharon Pearl was charged with embezzlement in California and six separate counts of filing false income tax returns. Pearl used the $675,000 she stole from the agency to fund a lavish lifestyle for herself, spending the money on expensive clothes, spa treatments, dinners, and nights at expensive hotels.

As the State Bar’s Director of Real Property, Pearl was in charge of collecting rent money from tenants at the agency’s San Francisco headquarters. She also had a separate position overseeing the accounts of the Piedmont Light Opera Theater. According to prosecutors, Pearl asked tenants of the State Bar to make their rent checks out to “PLOT – The State Bar of California” – PLOT standing for the Piedmont Light Opera Theater. Pearl deposited the rent checks meant for the State Bar into the theater’s bank account and then transferred the money into her own personal account. After six years, State Bar officials discovered the accounting discrepancies and fired her in October 2008.

After the trial, Pearl’s attorney, Mark Cohen, stated she “deeply regretted her actions” and had already paid $393,000 in restitution. Cohen also accused the State Bar of using Pearl as a scapegoat to help cover for the agency’s lack of internal financial controls. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Smetana acknowledged the agency had no mechanism in place to track the payments it should have been receiving from tenants.

If you are accused of embezzlement, it is vital that you call the Southern California defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich. Our attorneys have over 30 years of experience successfully defending clients of embezzlement and theft-related charges. We will go over your case with you in great detail and provide you with the best possible defense. Call Wallin & Klarich today at 1-888-749-0034 or www.wklaw.com for a consultation of your case. We can help you.

Actor Randy Quaid and his wife are currently facing felony charges according to a recent report by KTLA. The two plead not guilty in a Santa Barbara courtroom to felony fraud charges. The charges stem from an earlier event in which Quaid and his wife, Evi, allegedly racked up a $10,000 bill at a ranch in Montecito with an unusable credit card.

Fraud charges involving credit cards can be serious if you are convicted. California laws covering credit card fraud carry substantial penalties. These penalties can include jail time, fines, probation, prison, parole, community service, and restitution.

If you or a loved one is facing felony fraud charges, our San Diego fraud defense attorneys at Wallin and Klarich have the experience needed to ensure that your rights are protected. Our attorneys have over 30 years of experience in dealing with fraud charges. We will provide you with the best possible defense. Call us at 888-749-0034 or contact us on our website at www.wklaw.com. We will be there when you call.