California RealEstateRama

RIVERSIDE, CA - November 21, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- An Australian man who once worked as a jockey has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for concealing the proceeds of a loan fraud scheme that caused victims to lose more than $5 million in less than eight months

Washington, DC - November 19, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) released the following statement in response to the Federal Housing Administration’s annual financial status report issued to Congress today:

San Francisco, CA - November 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Edwin M. Lee today at the U.S. Green Building Council Greenbuild International Conference and Expo being held at the Moscone Convention Center announced that the City and County of San Francisco has filed for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for eight buildings in San Francisco’s Historic Civic Center District. The LEED application for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance category includes over 2.2 million square feet of civic real estate for San Francisco City Hall, Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco Main Library, Asian Art Museum, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, Department of Public Health Headquarters, War Memorial Opera House and War Memorial Veterans Building

SACRAMENTO, CA - November 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-05) today announced that Sacramento County’s Department of Health and Human Services has received a continuation of their $962,901 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The grant will support the county’s Health Care for the Homeless Program (HCH), which provides primary medical care for low income, uninsured, and underinsured residents in the Sacramento region.

LOS ANGELES, CA - November 6, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The following is a statement by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) on last week’s announced REO bulk sale transaction between Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Colony Capital

WASHINGTON, DC - November 1, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.

November 1, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A former Southern California resident pleaded guilty today in federal court in Portland, Oregon, to mail fraud charges for orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme that used fraudulent loan applications and supporting documents to convince lenders to fund more than $20 million in loans on approximately three dozen properties in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties

San Francisco, CA - October 25, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Edwin Lee and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom today launched a new Project Homeless Connect service – Every Day Connect – to meet the needs of people every day who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - October 18, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Edward G. Locker was sentenced this week to 30 months in prison for his role in a real estate investment fraud scheme, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. On September 24, 2012, co-defendants Richard F. Tipton and David C. H. Lin were sentenced to 18 and 28 months in prison, respectively, for their role in the same scheme. On August 20, co-defendant James W. Ward was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment for his role in the scheme. The court imposed these sentences based upon the defendants’ convictions for engaging in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with their operation of Mountain View private money lenders known as Jim Ward and Associates Inc. and JSW Financial Inc.

LOS ANGELES, CA - October 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A San Fernando Valley real estate agent and self-described real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty to running a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme out of companies based in the Santa Clarita Valley.

October 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced Moscone Center has received LEED Gold certification, the first convention center on the West Coast to attain the green building honor. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

October 10, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that Orange County attorney Stephen Kenneth Chrysler was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison for his role in an $8 million mortgage fraud scheme involving 16 homes in Oceanside, Escondido, San Marcos, Lakeside, and Menifee. His mother, Aida Agusti Castro, a Carlsbad real estate broker who was also sentenced for her role in the scheme, received a 33-month prison sentence. United States District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller also sentenced each defendant to forfeit over $350,000 in illicit proceeds.

LOS ANGELES, CA - October 10, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Attorney General Eric Holder, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, FBI Associate Deputy Director Kevin L. Perkins, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz announced the results of the Distressed Homeowner Initiative, the first-ever nationwide effort to target fraud schemes that prey upon suffering homeowners. The yearlong initiative, organized by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force’s Mortgage Fraud Working Group, resulted in 530 criminal defendants charged in 285 federal cases filed in U.S. District Courts across the country. These cases involved more than 73,000 homeowner victims and total losses by those victims are estimated by law enforcement at more than $1 billion.

LOS ANGELES, CA - October 3, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A 50-year-old resident of Tujunga was sentenced this morning to 37 months in federal prison for his participation in a home equity line of credit (HELOC) scheme that resulted in losses of more than $1 million.

LOS ANGELES, CA - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today directed Ally Financial, Inc., formerly known as GMAC, to prove immediately that it is complying with state law or, if it cannot, to cease and desist from foreclosing on California homes.

SACRAMENTO, CA - September 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the final parts of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights have been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.

Stockton, CA - September 25, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Next Sat., Sept. 29, 2012, Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) will attend a foreclosure assistance and first-time homebuyers workshop in Stockton. The Congressman will speak at the event at 10 am. HUD-certified counselors will be on hand to provide assistance, and first-time homebuyers can find out how to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in 20 years.

SANTA ANA, CA - September 24, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The owner of a Pasadena mortgage brokerage firm was sentenced today to 108 months in federal prison for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme that obtained more than $30 million in loans.

SACRAMENTO, CA - September 24, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the arrest Thursday of four suspects who have been charged with securities fraud, conspiracy and elder abuse for operating a Ponzi scheme that bilked dozens of investors of over $2.3 million

Washington, D.C. - September 17, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) called on Congress to move quickly to pass their legislation that could help millions of American families refinance following the announcement that the Federal Reserve will take steps to keep interest rates low for homeowners and other borrowers