Plea Hearing Postponed In Agoura Hills Real Estate Fraud Case

AGOURA HILLS, CA — A change of plea hearing for an Agoura Hills-based real estate developer facing federal bankruptcy and tax fraud charges was postponed Monday, and he may go to trial instead.

Mark Handel, 68, had initially agreed to enter a guilty plea in downtown Los Angeles to making a false statement in bankruptcy and submitting a false tax return, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

However, Handel took issue with a clause in the plea agreement and the judge set a trial date in July, prosecutors said.

If he had pleaded guilty, Handel was on the hook to forfeit over $3.5 million, which is equivalent to his proceeds on real estate sales in Alameda County with his guilty plea expected in the coming weeks. He will also pay the Internal Revenue Service over $1.45 million in"tax liabilities," according to the department.

Handel faces a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison, according to the department.

Handel's crimes date back to April 2015, when he filed a bankruptcy petition in Los Angeles that stated he had no income from 2013 to 2015, the department said in a news release. In reality, he earned over $2 million in income from his real estate development company saved under a company titled DTMM Construction Inc., which stands for "Don't Touch My Money," according to the department. Profits from the company were funneled to personal accounts to pay his and his family's expenses.

"Handel concealed his income from his creditors by depositing it into DTMM’s accounts. Among the assets Handel hid from creditors included his interest in real estate in Livermore, California," the department said.

In 2016, Handel filed a false federal income tax return for the previous year which excluded over $1 million in income, according to the department. Between 2010 and 2017, Handel similarly did not report nearly $7 million of income. Again in 2017 and 2018, he falsely reported his income to the government, the department said.

City News Service contributed to this report.