Title
Receive and accept the Annual Real Estate Fraud Report for Fiscal Year ("FY") 2014/2015 submitted by the District Attorney's Office in accordance with California Government Code section 27388(d).
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Receive and accept the Annual Real Estate Fraud Report for Fiscal Year ("FY") 2014/2015 submitted by the District Attorney's Office in accordance with California Government Code section 27388(d).
SUMMARY:
The District Attorney's Office submits its Annual Real Estate Fraud Report for FY 2014/2015 in order for the Board of Supervisors to evaluate the District Attorney's effectiveness in investigating, prosecuting and deterring real estate fraud activity.
DISCUSSION:
During FY 2014/2015, the District Attorney's Office received 37 new referrals which included allegations of real estate fraud, compared to 28 such referrals received during FY 2013/2014. Of those 37 new referrals, the District Attorney determined that 24 merited investigation beyond customary file review and background checks.
While investigation of any allegation of real estate fraud requires significant time and resources from prosecutors, investigators and paralegals, of the 24 investigations commenced during FY 2014/2015, two involve hundreds of victims, a corresponding number of transactions, and thousands of pages of records (e.g., agreements, loan applications, appraisals, complaints, contracts, checks, deeds, escrow materials, liens and notes). Four other referrals involve ten or more alleged victims, also with a corresponding number of transactions and similar volume of records requiring review.
Case filing decisions continue to be at the discretion of the District Attorney pursuant to Government Code section 27388(f). Accordingly, the District Attorney will sometimes conclude, after analysis of a new complaint or referral, that neither a criminal prosecution nor a civil lawsuit for illegal business practi...
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