SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After an extensive investigation by the California Department of Real
Estate (DRE) and the Office of the California Attorney General (AG),
real estate salesperson buying a shortsale Matthew Wayne Stewart pled guilty to conspiracy
to commit real estate fraud stemming from his actions in two short sale
transactions.
"This case should be a warning to all licensees involved in short sale
fraud", stated Bill Moran, DRE's enforcement chief. "Such fraud by real
estate licensees will not be tolerated and the DRE will continue to work
with its law enforcement partners to ensure unscrupulous operators are
punished to the full extent of the law."
In October 2010, the DRE filed an action against Stewart accusing him
of, among other things, receiving illegal secret profits in two separate
short sale transactions. Specifically, Stewart was accused of entering
into two separate short sale listing agreements wherein the allowable
compensation to be paid to the licensees could not exceed 7% of the
sales price. However, Stewart was accused of exceeding the compensation
limitation by requiring the buyers to pay an additional 3% short sale
negotiation fee, a fee that was concealed and not disclosed to the
lenders or sellers.
The case was referred to the AG's Mortgage Fraud Strike Force,
established by Attorney General Kamala Harris in May 2011 to investigate
and prosecute mortgage fraud. On December 28, 2011 the AG filed felony
charges against Stewart for defrauding buyers and sellers in short sale
transactions in Placer and Nevada counties. On April 18, 2012, Stewart
pled guilty to conspiracy to commit real estate fraud stemming from the
above transactions wherein Stewart "fraudulently collected two short
sale fees buying a shortsale to which he was not lawfully entitled..." As part of the plea,
Stewart was required to surrender his real estate license, serve 90 days
in jail, pay restitution of approximately $25,000, and be on formal
probation for three years. On June 12, 2012, Stewart's voluntary license
surrender became effective.
Given current market conditions and the large number of financially
distressed homeowners, the potential for short sale fraud is huge. Short
sale fraud takes many forms and all forms have a deleterious effect on
the market. To help combat short sale fraud, the DRE has issued several
Consumer Alerts to help educate consumers and real estate licensees
alike to avoid short sale scams. The Alerts are posted on the DRE's
website and may be found at: http://www.dre.ca.gov/cons_alerts.html
The DRE is a state department whose mission is to protect the public
interests in real estate matters. For more information about DRE and its
programs visit www.dre.ca.gov.
Estate (DRE) and the Office of the California Attorney General (AG),
real estate salesperson buying a shortsale Matthew Wayne Stewart pled guilty to conspiracy
to commit real estate fraud stemming from his actions in two short sale
transactions.
"This case should be a warning to all licensees involved in short sale
fraud", stated Bill Moran, DRE's enforcement chief. "Such fraud by real
estate licensees will not be tolerated and the DRE will continue to work
with its law enforcement partners to ensure unscrupulous operators are
punished to the full extent of the law."
In October 2010, the DRE filed an action against Stewart accusing him
of, among other things, receiving illegal secret profits in two separate
short sale transactions. Specifically, Stewart was accused of entering
into two separate short sale listing agreements wherein the allowable
compensation to be paid to the licensees could not exceed 7% of the
sales price. However, Stewart was accused of exceeding the compensation
limitation by requiring the buyers to pay an additional 3% short sale
negotiation fee, a fee that was concealed and not disclosed to the
lenders or sellers.
The case was referred to the AG's Mortgage Fraud Strike Force,
established by Attorney General Kamala Harris in May 2011 to investigate
and prosecute mortgage fraud. On December 28, 2011 the AG filed felony
charges against Stewart for defrauding buyers and sellers in short sale
transactions in Placer and Nevada counties. On April 18, 2012, Stewart
pled guilty to conspiracy to commit real estate fraud stemming from the
above transactions wherein Stewart "fraudulently collected two short
sale fees buying a shortsale to which he was not lawfully entitled..." As part of the plea,
Stewart was required to surrender his real estate license, serve 90 days
in jail, pay restitution of approximately $25,000, and be on formal
probation for three years. On June 12, 2012, Stewart's voluntary license
surrender became effective.
Given current market conditions and the large number of financially
distressed homeowners, the potential for short sale fraud is huge. Short
sale fraud takes many forms and all forms have a deleterious effect on
the market. To help combat short sale fraud, the DRE has issued several
Consumer Alerts to help educate consumers and real estate licensees
alike to avoid short sale scams. The Alerts are posted on the DRE's
website and may be found at: http://www.dre.ca.gov/cons_alerts.html
The DRE is a state department whose mission is to protect the public
interests in real estate matters. For more information about DRE and its
programs visit www.dre.ca.gov.