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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Young Woman Defrauded Homeowners

LOS ANGELES (CN) - A 22-year-old woman pleaded guilty to defrauding desperate homeowners on the verge of foreclosure out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by promising them loan modification services with forged documents. Anna Santos mailed flyers stating "final notice" to victims, advising them to sign up for a program that would save their homes from foreclosure.

The victims were given a Post Office box address and instructed to send payments to the "Payment Processing Department." Santos got a fictitious business permit under that name from the City of Los Angeles. She sent her victims forged loan modification documents, and deposit the roughly $3,000 she received from each victim into one of her bank accounts.

Santos is expected to receive 2 years in prison for the scam Attorney General Jerry Brown called "cruel and sophisticated." Brown said Santos is believed to have scammed more than 100 people out of roughly $3,000 apiece.

Santos will be sentenced May 20 in Superior Court.

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