BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - A husband and wife from Bakersfield are the latest defendants to plead guilty in connection with a complex mortgage fraud scheme.
KBAK-TV reports (https://bit.ly/1DevZzK) 37-year-old Lucia Chavez and her husband, 41-year-old Joseph Chavez, entered pleas Monday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud. Sentencing is set for July.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fresno says all nine defendants in the federal case have now pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors say the nine conspired from 2007 to 2010 to use straw buyers to acquire houses in Bakersfield. Their activities were conducted under Pershing Partners, a firm owned by Lucia Chavez, and Jara Brothers Investments, owned by her brothers, co-defendants Eliseo Jara and Sergio Jara.
Officials say they paid straw buyers and funded their purchases with loans based on false and fraudulent information.
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Information from: KBAK-TV, https://www.bakersfieldnow.com/
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