San Fernando Valley Con Man Pleads Guilty in Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Fraud Scheme that

[TexasTowelie]

San Fernando Valley Con Man Pleads Guilty in Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Fraud Scheme that Targeted Vulnerable Homeowners


LOS ANGELES – A career con man pleaded guilty today in a federal fraud case stemming from a real estate scam that targeted distressed homeowners, many of whom were elderly individuals who were scammed out of their homes, losing significant equity in the properties accumulated over the course of their lifetimes and sometimes over the course of generations of home ownership.

Michael “Mickey” Henschel, 70, of Van Nuys, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in relation to the scheme that generated more than $17 million in profits and caused homeowners to suffer approximately $10 million in losses when they lost title to their homes and when they were defrauded into giving Henschel and his co-conspirators money as part of the scam. Henschel’s fraudulent conduct also caused losses to mortgage lenders and purchasers of foreclosed properties.

With another defendant pleading guilty today, a total of seven conspirators linked to Henschel’s Van Nuys-based businesses have now pleaded guilty in the scheme that used fraudulent deeds to steal properties from homeowners, and also charged homeowners illegal fees to delay foreclosure and eviction actions.

According to court documents, Henschel – who used various aliases, including “Frank Winston,” “Steve Lopez” and “Ron Berman” – and his co-conspirators tricked distressed homeowners into signing fraudulent deeds on their properties with false promises that the deeds would help homeowners protect their properties from creditors. The fraudulent deeds allowed Henschel and the others to fraudulently file documents on the titles to the targeted homeowners’ properties. For example, they filed fraudulent grant deeds that purported to convey an interest in the properties to entities that Henschel controlled. They also filed fraudulent trust deeds based on fictional loans supposedly guaranteed by the targeted homeowners and fraudulent liens that recorded an interest in the properties based on fictional debts.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/san-fernando-valley-con-man-pleads-guilty-multi-million-dollar-real-estate-fraud-scheme