Law Enforcement

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Justice announced today that a multi-agency investigation targeting a Sacramento-area burglary ring netted the arrests of more than a dozen gang members, as well as the seizure of assault rifles, handguns and narcotics.

The operation, code-named “Red Bandits,” involved the collaboration of a Department of Justice task force – the Yolo Narcotic Enforcement Team (YONET) – and the West Sacramento Police Department.

Operation Red Bandits targeted a burglary ring made up of Norteno gang members, who committed more than 80 home burglaries and 51 vehicle burglaries in the Sacramento region beginning in December 2012 – along with other violent crimes, including car jackings and shootings. 

Law enforcement from nearly a dozen local, state and federal agencies served 12 state search warrants today in an attempt to recover stolen property.  In total, 13 individuals were arrested and booked into the Yolo County Jail and juvenile hall.  Police also seized three assault rifles, four handguns, (several of which were stolen), two active honey oil labs, five pounds of marijuana, 1/4 pound methamphetamine, ammunition and body armor.  In three of the locations, children were removed by Child Protective Services (CPS) due to their access and proximity to firearms and drugs. 

The individuals arrested today face multiple felony charges related to the possession, sale and distribution of narcotics, as well as conspiracy and other property and violent crimes. Many have prior arrests for firearms-related charges. 

YONET and the West Sacramento Police Department were assisted in today’s search warrants by two of Attorney General Kamala D. Harris’ task forces – the Placer Special Investigations Unit and the Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation Team (MAVMIT) – as well as the following agencies:  the California Highway Patrol SWAT and High Risk Warrant Entry Team, the Davis Police Department SWAT, FBI SAFE Streets Task Force, West Sacramento Police Department SWAT, Woodland Police Department SWAT, Yolo County Sheriff’s Department SWAT, Yolo County District Attorney’s Office and the Yolo County Gang Task Force.  

SANTA ROSA -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of three suspects who have been charged in a mortgage fraud scheme targeting struggling Northern California homeowners. Six websites allegedly used by the suspects to advertise their scheme have been intercepted and redirected to a resource page on the California Attorney General’s website.

The felony complaint alleges that Ronald Vernon Cupp, 58, of Santa Rosa, deceived homeowners by falsely advertising a way to “kill” their mortgage debt on six websites including www.wekillyourmortgage.com. Cupp was assisted by Randall Gilbert Heyden, 69, of San Rafael, and Angelle Wertz, 38, of Santa Rosa, a public notary who allegedly certified phony legal documents. Cupp allegedly recorded fraudulent documents, which would only delay a foreclosure, not actually satisfy the preexisting mortgage debt.

“Vulnerable California homeowners thought they were working to save their homes but were actually the victims of a fraudulent scheme,” Attorney General Harris said. "Today, it's not enough to dismantle the brick-and-mortar aspect of a criminal operation; we need to shut down criminal operations in cyberspace as well." 

Cupp, Heyden and Wertz are charged in a 57-count complaint alleging theft, forgery, notary fraud and recording of false documents. They were booked at the Sonoma County Jail on Wednesday, January 23. Cupp and Heyden are being held with bail set at $500,000 and $75,000 respectively. Wertz was released but ordered to appear for arraignment on Friday, January 25.

Through Cupp’s business, North Bay Trust Services, homeowners would often allegedly pay upfront fees of between $1,000 and $10,000 and sign a promissory note or new mortgage for a phony offer to eliminate their mortgage debt. Requiring up-front fees is illegal in California. The suspects would then allegedly record fraudulent documentation purporting to be the attorney for the homeowner’s actual lender and then relinquish the mortgage and record a new deed of trust in favor of North Bay Trust Services. The debt to the original lender was never actually satisfied.

The following six websites have had their service suspended pursuant to a court order at the request of the Attorney General Harris’s eCrime Unit:

http://www.northbaytrustservices.com/

http://wekillyourmortgage.com/

http://santarosatrustandtitle.com/

http://sonomafidelitytitle.com/

http://cortemaderafidelityandtitle.com/

http://marintrustandtitle.com/

These pages have been redirected to the California Attorney General’s website (http://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/doj-investigation) where individuals are able to file an online complaint form if they believe they may have been the victim of the scheme.

The arrests were a result of a joint investigation by the California Department of Justice Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force, Marin County District Attorney’s office, Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office and Santa Rosa Police Department.

Below are tips for homeowners on how to avoid mortgage fraud schemes:

• Never pay an up-front fee for mortgage-related services. It is against California law and should be reported to the California Department of Justice.
• Be skeptical of third party phone or online solicitations.
• Do not give your personal financial information, such as your bank account number, social security number or the name of your loan servicer, to a solicitor. Your bank or loan servicer already has this information.

For free, trustworthy advice, on mortgage related matters call a HUD approved counselor – (888) 995-4673.

The arrest warrant is attached to the online version of this press release at http://oag.ca.gov/.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued recommendations for mobile application (app) developers and the mobile industry to safeguard consumer privacy. Today’s report provides guidance on developing strong privacy practices, translating these practices into mobile-friendly policies, and coordinating with mobile industry actors to promote comprehensive transparency.

“Californians want to know what personal information their apps collect, how it is used and with whom it is shared,” said Attorney General Harris. “To meet this need and keep pace with rapidly changing technology, these recommendations strike a responsible balance between protecting consumers’ personal information and fostering the continued growth of the innovative app economy.”

Today’s report, Privacy on the Go: Recommendations for the Mobile Ecosystem, is the result of an outreach effort that compiled input from stakeholders throughout the mobile industry. Its purpose is to serve as a template for the mobile industry to develop mobile-friendly privacy policies and practices that will improve consumer privacy without stifling innovation.  To accommodate the smaller screens of mobile devices, the report recommends the use of special notifications such as icons, or pop-up notifications to inform consumers about how personally identifiable information is being collected and shared.

The issue of mobile privacy is increasingly pressing as more than half of American adult cell phone owners access the Internet from their phones, and more than 1,600 mobile apps are released every day.

To protect consumers’ online privacy, Attorney General Harris forged an agreement among the seven leading mobile and social app platforms in 2012. The agreement – with Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Research in Motion – involved displaying app privacy policies that users could find in a consistent location in the platform store and review before downloading an app. 

In October 2012, the Attorney General sent letters to approximately 100 mobile app developers and companies that were not in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act and gave 30 days to post a conspicuous privacy policy. In December, the Attorney General filed the first legal action against Delta Airlines, Inc. for violating California’s online privacy law, which requires apps that collect personally identifiable information to conspicuously post a privacy policy.

Last year, Attorney General Harris also established the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit to enforce federal and state privacy laws regulating the collection, retention, disclosure, and destruction of private or sensitive information by individuals, organizations, and the government. This includes California’s Online Privacy Protection Act, as well as laws relating to cyber privacy, health and financial privacy, identity theft, government records and data breaches.

A copy of the report is available here: http://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/privacy/privacy_on_the_go.pdf

To learn more about the Attorney General’s privacy work, visit http://oag.ca.gov/cybersafety.

BAKERSFIELD -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the sentencing of the former Director of Nursing of a Kern Valley Healthcare District hospital with a skilled nursing facility, a rare case in which a medical professional has been criminally charged and sentenced under elder abuse laws for the illegal chemical restraint of patients. 

Gwen D. Hughes, 59, the former Director of Nursing, was sentenced to three years in state prison Wednesday in Kern County Superior Court. Hughes pled no contest on October 11, 2012 to one felony count of elder abuse with a special allegation that the abuse contributed to the victim’s death.

Hughes ordered the administration of psychotropic medications to 23 elderly residents of the skilled nursing facility not for therapeutic reasons, but instead to control and quiet them for the convenience of staff. The drugs were given to patients who were noisy, prone to wandering, who complained about conditions or were argumentative. The drugs hastened three patients’ deaths, according to the investigation, and all 23 suffered some form of adverse physical reaction as a result. Many of the patients were under care for Alzheimer’s or dementia.

“Elder abuse in skilled nursing facilities is a particularly heinous crime because vulnerable victims and their families have placed their trust in the facilities to provide quality care, preserve their dignity and enjoy a better quality of life,” Attorney General Harris said. “This defendant maliciously and dangerously drugged patients for her own personal convenience. This is clearly outrageous conduct that justifies a state prison sentence.”

This case was investigated and charged by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Medical Fraud and Elder Abuse (BMFEA). Reflecting Attorney General Harris’ career-long commitment to elder abuse prosecutions, BMFEA has created specialized teams in Sacramento and Los Angeles composed of legal and medical professionals to investigate cases involving systemic elder abuse.

The California Department of Public Health began an initial investigation in 2007, following complaints from an ombudsman that a patient in the skilled nursing facility had been held down and injected with psychotropic medicine by force. They found evidence of patient harm, and issued a Certificate of Immediate Jeopardy against the facility, before turning the case over to the Justice Department.

Evidence indicated that Hughes directed the hospital’s director of pharmacy to write doctor’s orders for the unnecessary psychotropic medications.   

The orders were signed at a later time by the medical director. Pamela Ott, former chief executive officer of the Kern Valley Health District, pled no contest to one felony count of conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public health based on her failure to adequately supervise the Director of Nursing. Ott was sentenced to three years formal probation, 300 hours of volunteer service, restitution pending conclusion of civil lawsuits. She is required to comply with all orders from the Registered Nursing Board, which is conducting its own investigation into the matter. 

In July 2012, Dr. Hoshang Pormir, the Medical Director, was also sentenced to 300 hours of volunteer service, restitution pending conclusion of civil lawsuits, and a requirement to comply with all orders from the Medical Board. Pormir failed to conduct examinations of patients or monitor their reactions to medications.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on the decision to overturn the rape conviction of Julio Morales by the 2nd District Court of Appeal:

"The evidence is clear that this case involved a nonconsensual assault that fits within the general understanding of what constitutes rape. This law is arcane and I will work with the Legislature to fix it."

SACRAMENTO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced 2,000 firearms were seized from individuals legally barred from possessing them, including persons determined to be mentally unstable and those with active restraining orders.

“California has clear laws determining who can possess firearms based on their threat to public safety,” said Attorney General Harris. “Enforcing those laws is crucial because we have seen the terrible tragedies that occur when guns are in the wrong hands. This program is an important part of our law enforcement work and I thank all of the agents who work so hard every day to keep our communities safe.”

In 2012, 33 Department of Justice agents used the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) database to identify individuals prohibited from owning guns, including convicted felons, individuals with active restraining orders, and those determined to be mentally unstable. In total, DOJ agents seized 2,033 firearms, 117,000 rounds of ammunition, and 11,072 illegal high capacity magazines. These numbers include seizures conducted from January 1 to November 30, 2012.

The majority of firearms were seized during two 6-week sweeps. The first statewide sweep targeted individuals prohibited because of mental health issues and the second focused on people with legally registered assault weapons who were later prohibited from owning them.

In 2011, Attorney General Harris sponsored legislation to increase funding for the Department of Justice’s APPS program through the use of existing regulatory fees collected by gun dealers. Senate Bill 819 passed in June 2011 and became law on January 1, 2012.

The APPS database cross-references five databases to find people who legally purchased handguns and registered assault weapons since 1996 with people who are prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. The database was completed in November 2006, and the first statewide sweep was conducted in 2007.

Since Attorney General Harris took office, there have been three statewide APPS sweeps. The Department of Justice leads these efforts with the support of local law enforcement agencies.

California is the first and only state in the nation to establish an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon owners who might fall into a prohibited status.

Photos of weapons seized during this past year’s APPS sweeps are attached to the electronic version of this release at: http://oag.ca.gov/news

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today released The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012. The report outlines the growing prevalence of the crime of human trafficking in the state, the increasing involvement of sophisticated transnational gangs in perpetrating the crime and the modern technologies that traffickers use to facilitate it.

Attorney General Harris released the report at the Human Trafficking Leadership Symposium, hosted by the University of Southern California in partnership with Humanity United. Leaders from law enforcement, victim service groups, non-government organizations and other groups convened to discuss the report and consider best practices in the fight against forced labor and sex trafficking. U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez provided keynote remarks at the symposium.

“Human trafficking is a growing threat because criminal organizations have determined it is a low-risk, high-reward crime. We are here to change that calculus,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. “We must counter the ruthlessness of human traffickers with our resolve, innovation and collaboration. Law enforcement must continue to get trained, gather data and work to shut down the human trafficking operations in our state.”

California law enforcement and service providers have committed to cracking down on this rapidly-evolving crime. The report finds that from mid-2010 to mid-2012, California’s nine regional anti-human trafficking task forces provided training to 25,591 law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, victim service providers and other first responders. During the same period, the task forces identified 1,277 victims, initiated 2,552 investigations, and arrested 1,798 individuals for the crime. California – the nation’s most populous and diverse state and the world’s ninth largest economy – is one of the nation’s top four destination states for trafficking human beings. Despite public perception, 72 percent of trafficked human beings in the state cite the United States as their country of origin, with the remainder coming from foreign countries.

The report also describes the evolving challenges California faces in addressing this crime, which has become a $32 billion-a-year global industry. Among the key findings in the report, organized criminal networks and street gangs are increasingly responsible for trafficking persons into and throughout the state. The prevailing wisdom among these criminals is that human trafficking is more profitable and has a lower risk of being detected than drug trafficking. In addition, new innovations in technology make it possible for traffickers to recruit victims and perpetrate their crimes online. However, technology is also key to successful enforcement as the Internet, social media and mobile devices provide new avenues for identifying perpetrators, reaching out to victims and raising public awareness about human trafficking.

Attorney General Harris earlier this year convened a Human Trafficking Work Group to update the first Human Trafficking in California report, released in 2007 by the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force, as a result of the state’s first anti-trafficking law (AB 22, Lieber). Attorney General Harris was a co-sponsor of AB22 and participated in the 2007 Task Force as San Francisco’s District Attorney and the representative of the California District Attorney’s Association. The 2012 Work Group included more than 100 representatives of state, local and federal law enforcement, state government agencies, victim service providers, nonprofit groups, technology companies and educational institutions. The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012 reflects the Work Group discussions held during three day-long meetings in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as supplemental research and investigation by the California Department of Justice.

Releasing the report on the current state of human trafficking is one of the steps Attorney General Harris has taken to combat the crime. In October, Attorney General Harris and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez signed an accord to help expand prosecutions and secure convictions of criminals who engage in the trafficking of human beings. In June, Attorney General Harris partnered with the Polaris Project and Yahoo! to help get human trafficking victims access to resources via sponsored search results displayed to potential victims of the crime. In 2011, Attorney General Harris joined the National Association of Attorneys General in calling on Backpage.com to shut down its adult services section, which had been used to facilitate sex trafficking.

Attorney General Harris also sponsored two new anti-trafficking laws, Assembly Bill 2466, by Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley), which ensures that criminal defendants involved in human trafficking will not dispose of assets that would otherwise be provided as restitution to victims; and Senate Bill 1133, by Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), which expands the list of assets that a human trafficker must forfeit and provides a formula for using those resources to help victims of human trafficking. Both laws will take effect on January 1, 2013.

Key Highlights from The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012 

• From mid-2010 to mid-2012, California’s nine regional human trafficking task forces identified 1,277 victims, initiated 2,552 investigations, and arrested 1,798 individuals.

• In the same two-year period, California’s task forces provided training to 25,591 law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other first responders. Several non-governmental organizations have also trained judicial officers, airport personnel, social service providers, pro bono attorneys, and retail businesses, among others. The variety of individuals who have been trained underscores the perva­siveness of human trafficking and the important role that governmental and non-govern­mental actors play in detecting trafficking and assisting victims.

• 72 percent of human trafficking victims whose country of origin was identified by California’s task forces are American. The public perception is that human trafficking victims are from other countries, but data from California’s task forces indicate that the vast majority are Americans.

• Labor trafficking is under-reported and under-investigated as compared to sex trafficking. 56 percent of victims who received services through California’s task forces were sex trafficking victims. Yet, data from other sources indicate that labor trafficking is 3.5 times as prevalent as sex trafficking worldwide.

• Local and transnational gangs are increasingly trafficking in human beings be­cause it is a low-risk and high, renewable profit crime. It is critical for federal, state, and local law enforcement and labor regulators to collaborate across jurisdictions to disrupt and dismantle these increasingly sophisticated, organized criminal networks.

• A vertical prosecution model run outside routine vice operations can help law enforcement better protect victims and improve prosecutions. Fostering expertise about human trafficking within a law enforcement agency and handling these cases outside routine vice operations can prevent erroneously viewing trafficking victims as perpetrators.

• Early and frequent collaboration between law enforcement and victim service providers helps victims and prosecutors. Victims who receive immediate and compre­hensive assistance are more likely to help bring their traffickers to justice.

• Traffickers are reaching more victims and customers by recruiting and advertising online. Traffickers use online advertising and Internet-enabled cell phones to access a larger client base and create a greater sense of anonymity. Law enforcement needs the training and tools to investigate trafficking online.

• Technology is available to better identify, reach, and serve victims. Tools like search-term-triggered messages, website widgets, and text short codes enable groups to find victims online, connect them with services, and encourage the general public to report human trafficking.

• Alert consumers need more tools to leverage their purchasing power to reduce the demand for trafficking. Public and private organizations are just beginning to create web-based and mobile tools to increase public awareness and educate consumers about how to help combat human trafficking.

Human trafficking involves the recruitment, smuggling, transporting, harboring, buying, or selling of a person for purposes of exploitation, prostitution, domestic servitude, sweatshop labor, migrant work, agricultural labor, peonage, bondage or involuntary servitude. While human trafficking often involves the smuggling of human beings across international borders, numerous Americans are trafficked around the United States ever year. Human trafficking strips people, especially women and children, of their freedom and violates our nation’s promise that every person in the United States is guaranteed basic human rights.

For more information on the trafficking of human beings and to view the report online, go to www.oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris this week began formally notifying scores of mobile application developers and companies that they are not in compliance with California privacy law.

The companies were given 30 days to conspicuously post a privacy policy within their app that informs users of what personally identifiable information about them is being collected and what will be done with that private information. Letters will be sent out to up to 100 non-compliant apps at this time, starting with those who have the most popular apps available on mobile platforms.

"Protecting the privacy of online consumers is a serious law enforcement matter," said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. "We have worked hard to ensure that app developers are aware of their legal obligations to respect the privacy of Californians, but it is critical that we take all necessary steps to enforce California’s privacy laws."

The letters are the first step in taking legal action to enforce the California Online Privacy Protection Act (Simitian), which requires commercial operators of online services, including mobile and social apps, which collect personally identifiable information from Californians to conspicuously post a privacy policy. Privacy policies are an important safeguard for consumers. Privacy policies promote transparency in how companies collect, use, and share personal information. Companies can face fines of up to $2,500 each time a non-compliant app is downloaded.

This action by Attorney General Harris follows an agreement she forged among the seven leading mobile and social app platforms to improve privacy protections for millions of users around the globe who use apps on their smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices. Those platforms – Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Research in Motion – agreed to privacy principles designed to bring the industry in line with California law requiring mobile apps that collect personal information to have a privacy policy. The agreement allows consumers the opportunity to review an app’s privacy policy before they download the app rather than after, and offers consumers a consistent location for an app’s privacy policy on the application-download screen in the platform store.

The California Online Privacy Protection Act is one of the privacy laws that the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit is charged with enforcing. Created in 2012, the Privacy Unit’s mission is to enforce federal and state privacy laws regulating the collection, retention, disclosure, and destruction of private or sensitive information by individuals, organizations, and the government. This includes laws relating to cyber privacy, health privacy, financial privacy, identity theft, government records and data breaches.

The February 2012 press release announcing the apps agreement can be found here. The June 2012 press release announcing that Facebook joined the apps agreement can be found here.

A sample non-compliance letter is attached.

SACRAMENTO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of two individuals each charged with 14 counts of forgery or counterfeiting of government identification cards and conspiracy. The two individuals operated in a counterfeit identification ring that sold federal immigration documents (green cards), California identification cards and driver’s licenses, social security cards and passports.

Laurel Velasquez, 30, and Pedro Izehuatl, 45, of Sacramento were arrested on Wednesday after a four-month investigation by the California Department of Justice eCrime Unit and Special Crimes Unit. During the undercover operation, Velasquez and Izehuatl sold California Department of Justice Special Agents counterfeit driver’s licenses, green cards and a social security card.

In July 2012, the California Department of Justice received information about a potential counterfeit identification document ring and initiated an investigation which resulted in the identification of Laurel Velasquez as a seller of counterfeit items. Special agents subsequently conducted undercover operations from July to October 2012, during which they purchased dozens of counterfeit federal green cards, California driver’s licenses and a social security card from Velasquez for $100 each. The counterfeit green cards purchased were for individuals purported to be from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Russia and China.

Special agents were able to determine that the counterfeit items were being manufactured by another individual and on several occasions special agents observed this other individual meeting with the seller just prior to the counterfeit items being sold.

On October 24, DOJ agents served search warrants on the seller’s residence and the suspected manufacturer’s residence. During the service of these search warrants, sophisticated equipment used to create counterfeit identity documents was seized and Velasquez and Izehuatl were arrested. Both were booked into the Sacramento County Jail. Arraignment of both individuals is scheduled for Monday in Sacramento County Superior Court.

During this investigation, the California Department of Justice worked with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The eCrime Unit investigates and prosecutes identity theft crimes, cyber crimes and other crimes involving the use of technology.

The complaint is attached to the electronic version of this release at http://oag.ca.gov/news.

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of two suspects who have been charged with grand theft, burglary, unlawful collection of advance fees, tax evasion and conspiracy in a wide-ranging mortgage fraud scheme.  Both suspects also face special enhancements for excessive taking and aggravated white-collar crime for losses to victims exceeding $350,000.

The arrest declaration alleges that Joana Sosa, age 54 of Gardena, and Zoila Ortega, age 31 of Gardena, ran a criminal mortgage fraud enterprise mainly against Spanish-speaking victims and targeted members of their own Spanish-speaking community.  Many of the victims were often referred by other family and friends.

“As the mortgage crisis continues, we are seeing a troubling rise in fraud that targets struggling homeowners, including those with limited English language skills,” said Attorney General Harris.  The predators targeting these victims are ruthless, and I am proud of our prosecutors and special agents for helping to bring them to justice.”

Joana Sosa and Zoila Ortega are charged with 41 criminal felony counts.  If convicted, they each face 36 years in prison, including fines and restitution.  They were booked at the Los Angeles County Jail and remain in custody at this time.

From 2008 to 2010, Sosa and Ortega charged their victims thousands of dollars in up-front fees and monthly payments, promising to protect their victims from eviction by purchasing their property from their lender and becoming their new "lender." Sosa and Ortega promised the victims a modified loan they could afford with the opportunity to buy back their home in the future.  No services were rendered by Sosa and Ortega, resulting in consumers being evicted from their homes.  Additionally, Sosa and Ortega instructed several consumers to stop making their mortgage payment, and in some instances, to stop paying their bills all together.  Consumers were told this would allow them to qualify for a loan modification.  Over the last three years, Sosa did not file corporation income taxes. Many of the victims only spoke Spanish and were instructed to sign contracts in English.

In November 2011, the Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into this matter based on information received by the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs Real Estate Fraud Unit.   Agencies that assisted in this investigation include:  California Department of Justice Special Agents with the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, the Franchise Tax Board and the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs Real Estate Fraud Unit.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General David Peyman, who is part of the Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, which was formed in May 2011 to investigate and prosecute crimes related to mortgage, foreclosure and real estate fraud.

Copies of the complaint and arrest declaration are attached to this release at www.oag.ca.gov