We’re not sure what this says about our current inventory shortage, but a SoCal brother and sister have been arrested for listing and “selling” homes that were not for sale!
The pair were arrested Tuesday on federal charges alleging they orchestrated a $6 million real estate fraud scam, collecting money from multiple would-be buyers for each of the not-for-sale homes they promoted.
According to ABC7, Adolfo Schoneke and his sister, Bianca Gonzalez, each pleaded not guilty to nine charges contained in an indictment. Schoneke and Gonzalez were each charged with one count of conspiracy, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
The duo operated numerous real estate and escrow companies out of the South Bay under a variety of different names, including MCR and West Coast. The pair allegedly would promote properties as short sales—in some cases even using other people’s licenses to promote listings on the MLS—without the homeowner’s knowledge or consent.
ABC7 goes on to share that as part of the alleged scheme, the pair accepted multiple offers for each of the not-for-sale properties, while directing their office staff to open bank accounts in their own names to receive the down payments. Schoneke and Gonzalez then directed their staff to withdraw large amounts of cash from these accounts and give it to them, allowing Schoneke and Gonzalez to take possession of the fraud proceeds while hiding their involvement in the scheme.
Investigators estimate that several hundred victims collectively lost more than $6 million. If convicted of all charges, Schoneke and Gonzalez could each face a statutory maximum sentence of 162 years in federal prison.