Title
Receive and accept the Annual Real Estate Fraud Report for Fiscal Year ("FY") 2021-22 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 FY 2021-22 submitted by the District Attorney's Office in accordance with Government Code section 27388, subdivision (d).
SUMMARY:
The District Attorney's Office hereby submits its Annual Real Estate Fraud Report for FY 2021-22 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 30 real estate fraud referrals during FY 2021-22. 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 "rental scams" (which typically promise residential rents at below-market rates), the recording of fraudulent deeds, the fraudulent transfer of real estate, timeshare-related fraud, usurious "hard money" loans, mortgage loan fraud, unlicensed real estate activity, and elder abuse pertaining to the transfer of real estate.
Finally, 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. Throughout FY 2021-22, the FBI and the District Attorney's Office have continued to work together in identifying and investigating new cas...
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