HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07182000 - C154 10*
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TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
CONTRA
FROM: Phil Batchelor COSTA
County Administrator COUNTY
DATE: JULY 11, 2000
SUBJECT: REPORT ON REAL ESTATE FRAUD PROSECUTION PROGRAM
SPECIFIC REQUEST($)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ACKNOWLEDGE receipt of report on the District Attorney's Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Program.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None.
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND:
In accordance with the provisions of Government Code §27388,the attached report fulfills the
requirement of an annual report to the Board of Supervisors covering the activity of the Real Estate
Fraud Prosecution Program.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: —YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR�RECOMMENDATI OA COMMITTEE
PROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):\, ,
ACTION OF OARD ON - APPROVED AS
RECOMMEND OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A
p UNANIMOUS{ABSENT_ #1 TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN
AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED
ABSENT: _ABSTAIN: ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF
Contact: Lisa Driscoll(925)336-10166 SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC: CAO-Justice Systems Programs ATTESTED -hi y 2000
District Attomey PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF
THE BOARD F SUPERVISORS
AND COUNTY INISTRATO
B DEPUTY
Office,Of District Attorneyr�tr GaryT.Yancey
District Attorney
Court House, Fourth Floor Costa
P.O.B6x 670 �`'
Martinez,California 94553-0150 County
(925)646-4500 >
Board of Supervisors - s
Contra Costa County
651 Pine Street
Martinez, CA 94553
June 14, 2000
Dear Board Members:
RE: Report on Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Program
Pursuant to Government Code § 27388, I am reporting to your Board on the Real Estate Fraud
Prosecution Program I operate for the County. Effective July 1996, your Board authorized the
addition of a Deputy District Attorney and District Attorney Senior Inspector to my staff for the
investigation and prosecution crimes of real estate fraud,to be offset by revenue generated by
filing fees on certain real estate instruments.
1999 Activity
My Real Estate Fraud Prosecution team was formed July of 1996, and is housed within the
District Attorney's Special Operations, which is also responsible for prosecution of
environmental law violations, white collar crime,political corruption, and consumer fraud. Last
year,the Team.accepted 17 real estate fraud cases. The total aggregated monetary lass suffered
by individuals, associations, institutions, corporations and other relevant public entities exceeded
$ 1,000,000 for cases investigated in 1999. The total aggregated monetary loss suffered by
victims(individuals and entities) in cases filed last year exceeded$250,000. The aggregated
monetary loss suffered by victims in cases investigated in 1999 exceeded $750,000. These cases
involved grand theft, embezzlement of real estate trust funds, real estate investment and
securities fraud, loan fraud, illegally acting as an unlicensed real estate broker, recording of
forged instruments, and false filings regarding real estate tax.assessments. Two of the cases
whose investigation began before 1999 resulted in each defendant suffering multiple felony
convictions in 1999. Felony cases filed in 1999 are still pending this year.
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Funds Received and Expended
Funds raised by the filing fees from the Real Estate Fraud Trust Fund is applied as
revenue to the District Attorney's budget based on documentation maintained by project staff.
Daily time and attendance records show time Team staff spend on real estate fraud activities.
Funds have been used to offset salary and benefit costs,to the extent documented by the time
records, of Team staff directly responsible for the operation of the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution
Program. The records are subject to audit by the County Auditor- Controller. In 1999, $ 29,421
was expended and received by the District Attorney's Office for real estate fraud investigation
and prosecution.
Concluding Comments
Real estate fraud cases are very labor intensive for investigative and attorney staff in my
Office, even when the case work-up does not lead to a filing of criminal charges. In contrast to
the"non-document" crimes more frequently handled by the rest of my Office, real estate fraud
cases arrive at my office with little or no preliminary police investigative work. Even when the
police refer a case,the officers frequently lack the skills and experience necessary to work up a
real estate fraud case so that a prosecutor can determine the appropriateness of criminal charges.
Substantial investigation is usually required by the Team inspector, acting under attorney
guidance. There is often voluminous documentary material to be reviewed and evaluated by the
attorney before making a filing decision. In many of these cases where my Team did not file
criminal charges due to insufficient evidence, our Special Operations Unit,which handles a
combination of criminal and civil matters,took further action.
To advance their investigation and prosecution work, staff have maintained contact with
police, real estate brokers,title insurers,the Contra Costa County Recorder's Office, and the
Contra Costa County Assessor's Office. In order to improve our investigative and prosecutorial
expertise in this specialized area and to address legislative needs at the State level related to real
estate fraud, my staff attorney serves the Real Estate Fraud Committee of the California District
Attorney's Association.
I am proud of the record of this program in my Office. I hope to continue our success in
investigating,prosecuting, and deterring real estate fraud in Contra Costa County.
Y truly,
s
T%an yDistricey
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