Title
Receive and accept the Annual Real Estate Fraud Report for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2024-25 submitted by the District Attorney’s Office in accordance with California Government Code section 27388, subdivision (d).
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Receive and accept the Annual Real Estate Fraud Report for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2024-25 submitted by the District Attorney’s Office in accordance with California Government Code section 27388, subdivision (d).
SUMMARY:
The District Attorney’s Office hereby submits its Annual Real Estate Fraud Report for FY 2023 - 24 for the Board of Supervisors to evaluate the District Attorney’s Office’s effectiveness in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring real estate fraud.
DISCUSSION:
The District Attorney’s Office received 22 real estate fraud referrals during FY 2024-25. These referrals came from multiple sources, including local police agencies, private sector professionals, and Monterey County residents. They demonstrate that real estate fraud continues to pose a risk to Monterey County homeowners and residents. The new referrals involved a variety of alleged fraud schemes, including the recording of fraudulent deeds, classic timeshare-related frauds, fraudulent sale of vacant land by impersonating the absentee owner, mortgage loan fraud, and unlicensed real estate activity. Many referrals came from people who have worked with our office in other cases and so know how to spot other frauds. This speaks to the benefit of continued prosecution of these crimes, and the of the value of community outreach.
Additionally, in FY 2017-18, the San Francisco Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced the creation of a new task force, the Monterey County Financial Crime Task Force (“MCFCTF”), whose mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals engaged in financial crimes, including real estate fraud. Through...
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