Arrests Made In Mortgage Scheme Involving 3 Bay Area Residents

SACRAMENTO, CA --Three Northern California residents were sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. for crimes relating to their involvement in an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme that spanned the South and East bays and into the Central Valley, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Anita Sharma, 56, of Gilroy was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison on two counts each of mail and bank fraud as well as on charges of falsifying loan and credit applications. She was ordered to pay $603,180 in restitution and $30,000 in forfeiture.

Surjit Singh, 72, of Dublin, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison and was ordered to pay a $2 million fine, $698,787 in restitution and $847,000 in forfeiture.

His son, Rajeshwar Singh, 44, of Pleasanton, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison on four counts of mail fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and four counts of false statements on loan and credit applications. The younger Singh was ordered to pay a $1 million fine, $928,287 in restitution, and $838,399 in forfeiture.

The Northern California defendants were responsible for securing fraudulent residential mortgages amounting to $9.3 million, according to court documents and through court evidence.

In 2006 and 2007, Surjit Singh recruited individuals with good credit to act as straw buyers for residential properties owned by his family members and associates. The younger Singh, a licensed real estate agent, assisted in the scheme by submitting loan applications for the straw buyers.

Anita Sharma, a dental assistant at the time, was one of the straw buyers. Because Sharma and the other straw buyers could not afford the homes based on their true incomes, the Singhs submitted fraudulent loan applications and supporting material to lending institutions that included false statements about the straw buyers’ income, employment, liabilities, and intent to occupy the homes as their primary residences.

At least 14 properties were involved in the scheme. Sharma alone purchased five homes in San Jose, San Ramon, Elk Grove, Sacramento, and Modesto. Other straw buyers purchased or refinanced properties in Stockton, Modesto, Patterson, Lathrop and Tracy. All of these homes were ultimately either foreclosed upon or sold in a short sale where the bank lets homeowners sell their homes for less than is owed on the mortgage.

Sharma was paid for her involvement in the scheme. Singh, the agent, received financial benefits through broker commissions for the transactions and as the seller of seven of the properties. He also continued to occupy the San Ramon property at a time when Sharma should have been living there.

The elder Singh benefitted through payments out of escrow directed to shell companies, such as SJR Investments and BK Investments, which were associated with his daughter and significant other, whose initials are SJR and BK respectively. These payments were made under the guise of contracting services, which did not occur. He also benefitted through rental payments made to him and his significant other by the renters of the homes, as the straw buyers were not living in the homes. In addition, many of his family members received money by selling properties and had money directed to them out of escrow.

The elder Singh is in custody. His son and Sharma are scheduled to self‑surrender on Jan. 9, 2019.

This case culminated from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee S. Bickley, Kelli L. Taylor, and Kevin Khasigian prosecuted the case.

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