 Kevin and Leslie Sluga have been charged with multiple counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting. The charges were filed Wednesday in federal court in Fresno. The primary players in the ongoing investigation, David Crisp and former real estate partner Carl Cole, are accused of defrauding mortgage loan companies and federally insured financial institutions by supplying false information and documents to obtain nearly $11 million in loans.  All of the loans went into default, leaving the lenders with millions in losses, according to the California Department of Real Estate. The investigation into Crisp & Cole Realty began in September 2007 when federal agents raided 13 Bakersfield locations looking for evidence of fraud. Both Crisp and Cole have been stripped of their state-issued real estate licenses, but neither man has been charged in criminal court. The Slugas, reportedly relatives of Crisp, join former Crisp & Cole loan officer Jerald Teixeira as the only people charged in the case. According to federal charges, Kevin Sluga was a certified public accountant and co-owner of his own accounting firm when he and Leslie Sluga helped defraud lenders by creating falsified documents. Sluga's firm was called California Business Solutions and later Comprehensive Business Solutions, according to court documents. The U.S. Attorney's Office said a hearing on a proposed plea deal for the Slugas was scheduled for Friday morning in Fresno. The terms of the plea deal weren't disclosed. Teixeira, the first person charged in the case, accepted a plea deal in September. In that, he admitted that he, along with Crisp and Cole and others, executed the fraud scheme. Teixeira admitted to processing at least 60 fraudulent loans between October 2005 and January 2007 while employed with Crisp and Cole. Click here to read the full criminal complaint against Kevin Sluga. Click here to read the full criminal complaint against Leslie Sluga. CommentsLeave a Reply | ArchivesApril 2010 Breaking News:
|
RSS Feed