Operation Hard Money: How a Team of Mortgage Scammers Exploited Los Angeles Seniors Through Title Fraud

The FBI recently arrested 11 people in Los Angeles. The investigation involved people who went after more than $17 million in deed theft, say prosecutors. To get that money, they repeatedly attempted financial fraud. The swindlers allegedly took over the titles to their victims’ homes so they could exploit them for loan collateral.

Older adults holding free and clear titles were the key targets. The recent arrests are the fruits of a four-year investigation into the alleged crime ring. Law enforcement calls it Operation Hard Money.

Pre-Dawn Arrest at a Hollywood Mansion

The case started with a loan valued at more than $5 million. Then came more victims.

Private lending companies were induced, say investigators, to fund mortgage loans on homes that did not rightfully belong to the applicants. A series of suspicious mortgages took shape. And so did a sprawling investigation.

Authorities said the group plotted to take more than $17.4 million in total. By the time they’d made off with about $6 million from loan companies, a team involving the Los Angeles police and the Los Angeles Field Office for the FBI halted the scheme. News headlines told of a dramatic operation where one of the ringleaders was taken out of his Hollywood mansion in a pre-dawn arrest.

Los Angeles Magazine reported that the identity theft scheme has links with “an international organized crime syndicate.” (That’s not unusual in deed fraud cases.)

Older Deed Holders, High-Value Homes

The suspects are accused of impersonating older adults and falsifying legal documents. Other charges include wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering.

Investigators say the swindlers were busy with their project from early 2021. Personal identifying information belonging to victims became “synthetic” identities for the scheme’s participants.

It was an operation of fake IDs, falsely authored emails, and real-life impersonations. The swindlers applied for funds using bogus bank account records. Sometimes they masqueraded as the actual deed holders. Other times they pretended to be brokers, personal representatives, or family.

For some of the victims, the scammers concocted false death certificates. They also manufactured rent contracts, bank statements, medical records and reference letters, looking to obtain hard money loans. They opened bank accounts with the purpose of washing ill-gotten funds through legitimate institutions.

The loans were taken out against upmarket homes in and around Westwood, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, and Chinatown in Los Angeles. The homeowners were all aged 70+. All the homes, said the Los Angeles Police Department, were highly valuable and free of mortgages or other liens.

IRS agents also worked on the case. They “traced every wire, every transfer, and every shell account.”

According to the IRS Special Agent in Charge for criminal investigations in Los Angeles, the perpetrators set out to “move millions of dollars through a maze of fraudulent businesses and funnel accounts.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the high-profile arrests last month. The people arrested are mainly residents of Southern California. A federal grand jury indicted them on the charges. If convicted, these suspects face many years in federal prison.

Be Alert to Rising Title and Elder Fraud

Home values are high. Swindlers are looking for ways to break into that value. And consumer groups are sounding alarm bells for older adults who hold deeds to paid-off homes.

California’s Department of Real Estate, too, is concerned. It’s asking older deed holders to sign up for their counties’ electronic alerts systems to keep tabs on their titles. For safety’s sake, the department says, pick locally recommended, licensed professionals to facilitate deed transactions.

Please stay alert. We have tips.