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The Modesto Bee | Jail time in Stanislaus real estate fraud

Print This Article Posted on Sat, Aug. 04, 2012

Jail time in Stanislaus real estate fraud

Bee Staff Reportslocal@modbee.com
last updated: August 04, 2012 11:28:31 PM

A judge has sentenced a woman to a year in Stanislaus County Jail for filing false documents in an attempt to delay foreclosure on her parents' home. On June 5, Monica Whitten was convicted of two felony counts of offering to record or recording false documents, the district attorney's office reported Friday. Deputy District Attorney Brad Nix prosecuted the case. In 2009, Whitten filed the false documents related to her parents' mortgage to delay a pending foreclosure, prosecutors said. Whitten's case was delayed when she left the country. She was arrested when she flew into Atlanta on her return to the United States. Prosecutors said Whitten's case is an example of a common real estate fraud scheme in which defendants pay money for forms they believe will slow down or stop a foreclosure sale and file them at the county clerk-recorder's office. The real estate industry is now familiar with these fraudulent documents and is on the lookout for them. The prosecutors encourage the public to avoid becoming involved in these schemes. Along with the jail sentence, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Nancy Ashley sentenced Whitten to three years of probation and ordered her to pay restitution. Prosecutors ask anyone who learns of a potential real estate fraud scheme to call the district attorney's office at (209) 525-5550 and ask for a complaint form. The form can be found on the district attorney's Web site at www.stanislausda.org.
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