Seeno Development Company Employees Implicated in Mortgage Fraud Ring
Seeno Development Company Employees Implicated in Mortgage Fraud Ring
Employees of a Seeno development company have been implicated in a mortgage fraud ring, expanding an investigation into real estate dealings by the Contra Costa construction family’s various corporations.
An FBI complaint, unsealed last week, alleges a loan agent with Discovery Homes, a Seeno company, confessed to her part in submitting fake loan documents in 2008 in order to qualify for a loan on a Fairfield house. Additionally, a Pittsburg couple that had trouble getting traditional bank loans was directed by a Seeno employee to apply for a loan through a Southern California mortgage broker that the FBI claims had set up a mortgage fraud ring.
The referral was made by a top Seeno sales executive, Carey Hendrickson, who was indicted this year on three counts of wire fraud.
The 15-page complaint based on an FBI investigation is the latest trouble for Seeno family companies, which have faced accusations of criminal threats, breaking environmental laws, and racketeering by former business associates in Nevada. This month, a Las Vegas health department accused a Seeno company in Nevada of illegally installing septic systems on a golf course.
These developments come after a 2010 raid on the Concord company’s headquarters. Earlier court documents suggest a pattern in the developer’s activities during the housing bust that align with what mortgage industry experts call a “builder bailout,” which involves inflating the value of homes to help developers maintain a more robust line of credit during downturns.
A Seeno spokesman noted that the new criminal complaint does not mention any family members and asserted that the company may have been deceived along with the homebuyer.
“The complaint alleges no wrongdoing by Seeno companies,” said Sam Singer, a Seeno spokesman. “In fact, it shows the Seeno companies may have been targeted by unscrupulous Southern California fraudsters.”
Along with the FBI complaint, arrest warrants were filed for individuals associated with the alleged fraud ring, not with the Seeno companies. The Southern California fraud ring was dismantled shortly after the arrest of mortgage broker Chang Park, who cooperated with FBI investigators and tipped them off to his former boss and friend George Zevada.
Zevada co-owned Silverline Mortgage Pasadena, a mortgage brokerage that obtained fraudulent tax and income-employment documentation from accountant Miguel Arenas Sr. Arenas would provide fraudulent W-2 and 1040 forms and pay stubs.
Zevada also paid kickbacks to underwriters Tony Phan and Troy Chattariyangkul, who worked with mortgage lender Homecomings Financial, to process and approve loan applications for unqualified buyers. For each loan, the underwriters would receive a $700 kickback.
The FBI complaint details instances of fraudulent loan applications and documents submitted by individuals involved in the scheme, including a Discovery Homes loan officer and a Pittsburg couple who purchased a home through Seeno.
The investigation into the mortgage fraud ring continues, with individuals associated with the scheme facing charges of wire fraud. The Seeno development company has maintained its innocence in the matter, stating that they may have been victims of the fraudulent activities.
For more updates on this developing story, contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026 or follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/mgafni.