Posted on 08/08/2007 4:52:06 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
BEVERLY HILLS - Two real estate agents indicted for their alleged participation in a mortgage fraud scheme have been suspended by their employer, Prudential California Realty.
Joseph Babajian and Kyle Grasso, who often work together and are among the top-producing real estate agents in Southern California, have been ordered not to conduct any real estate transactions until the federal case against them has been resolved. Each denies wrongdoing.
Before their recent suspension, the pair had more than $65 million in residential real estate listed for sale.
Babajian was recently reported to be a co-listing agent on a 15,000- square-foot Beverly Hills mansion priced at $24.95 million.
The agents, who work out of Prudential's Estate Properties office on Wilshire Boulevard, are independent contractors whose pay is solely derived from commissions earned on real estate transactions.
The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles indicted the real estate agents last week, along with two licensed appraisers, on multiple counts of conspiracy, bank fraud and loan fraud.
The four allegedly participated in a complicated scheme that involved inflating the price of several homes in order to trick banks into funding mortgage loans that were hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than the properties actually cost, according to court documents.
Word is they ripped off Posh Spice and David Beckham, along with scores of other stars in the Hills.
List of Clients:
Barbra Streisand
Jack Nicholson
Nicolas Cage
Wayne Gretzky
Janet Jackson
Clint Black & Lisa Hartman
Vanna White
John Fogerty
Tom Petty
Harrison Ford
Karen Kane
Gail Anne Herd
Brian de Palma
Kitty Kallen
Pamela Anderson
Ella Fitzgerald
Donna Summer
Doug Cramer
Natalie Cole
Merv Adelson
Sherri Belafonte
Bob Daly-CEO of Warner Bros.
Tim Daly
Don Michael-Paul
Pam Grier & Kevin Evans
Keenen Ivory Wayans
Barry Chase
Tom Jones
Ed McMahon
Warren Beatty & Annette Bening
Chris McCarron
Loni Anderson
Jeff Goldblum
Brad Grey
Jerry Douglas
Kymberly Douglas
McDonald Cary
Graham Nash
Brian Wilson
Jon Peters
Jeffrey Boam
Screenwriter - Jonathan Hensleigh
Tawny Little
Lee Iacocca
Keith Samples
Producer - Tim Helfet
Judith Light
Diane English
George Sidney
Fred Dryer
Ruth Black
Screenwriter - Todd Black
Paul Marciano
Kelly Lange
Ozzy Osbourne
Kymberly Marciano
Kevin Brown
David Steinberg
Audrey Meadows
Producer - Alec Berg and Actress Michelle Maika
Oscar De La Hoya
Fred Durst
Whoa! LOL!
They’ll be going away for a little while most likely. The Feds came down hard here in Baltimore for the exact same thing a few years back. The prosecutors eventually punished people who had ancillary duties but were ‘on the fringe’ so to speak. I’m not sure of the broker-agent relationship in California but in Md the broker(s) were indicted as well.
LOL. Why not just make it an even 25m? What were they anticipating? People doing a real estate search sitting in front of their computers saying, "HMMM, What should I put into the database? Let's see, we'll start with 10m lowest figure and top price, $24 million 980 thousand. There click search and see what comes up!"
Uh, I doubt it.
Where is the link?
Why do sharks not bite realtors? Professional courtesy.
LA Times has a longer, more detailed article
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-agents3aug03,0,2850227.story
The four allegedly participated in a complicated scheme that involved inflating the price of several homes in order to trick banks into funding mortgage loans that were hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than the properties actually cost, according to court documents
Of course they all should be put away for a good long while and of course never be able to practice in either of their respective professions again. The licensed appraisers though really get my goat and should be put in front of a firing line, or at least made to pay off the difference from the real price that the homes should have been appraised at.
People sort of expect sales people to at times be nefarious and are a bit wary, but appraisers (even though one should try to make a point of getting someone independent rather then the real estate agents' recommendation, are generally deemed trustworthy.
The just release Harris Poll ranks Real Estate salesmen the lowest rank. I frankly was surprised.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877584/posts
Well, I do know that real estate, mortgage and appraisal industry resumes are the first in the wastebasket.
Now who was it that said the real estate bust was the fault of the media.
OK, being in the mortgage business, I find this line laughable! It is not a "complicated scheme" to bring in an appraisal over value. It happens every day. AND! you don't "trick" a bank into anything. They either did due diligence in their appraisal reviews, or they did not.
Same old, same old... happens all the time. Once in a while someone just gets caught. (just an aside, I do not condone such practices)
Just the other day, I read in the local free rag that a mortgage broker in Hillsborough (SF Bay area) pled no contest to 196 felony counts.
That guy was certainly no slacker.
Hillsborough mortgage broker pleads no contest to 173 felony charges
I had no idea the public had such a low opinion of real estate professionals.
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