Ex-Firefighter Gets Probation for Scam

A Woodland Hills man was sentenced Monday to three years on probation for a real-estate fraud scheme in which five Los Angeles County homeowners were bilked out of more than $500,000.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Florence-Marie Cooper also ordered Jose Ruben Solares, 29, to pay restitution of $55,000 to one of the victims, Alice Juanita Ward, 67, of Los Angeles. Of the other four victims, two lived in the San Fernando Valley and two lived in Los Angeles.

Solares, following a plea bargain with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft. One count of conspiracy to commit grand theft was dismissed.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Julie M. Sergojan said that between January, 1985, and April, 1986, Solares and three other Valley residents engaged in “quickie cash” deals in which Solares posed as a buyer and got homeowners to trade their property for worthless promissory notes.

Members of the group would take out loans, using the homes as collateral, then fail to pay for the properties, leaving the homeowners responsible for the loans, Sergojan said.

Solares, a former Los Angeles city firefighter, was fired from the department after an internal investigation of his involvement in the real-estate dealings, Sergojan said.

The other three defendants, Debi Jean Roemer, 33, of Burbank, Budd Barry Branca, 41, of Sun Valley, and Aaron Shopnick, 43, of Northridge, were ordered Feb. 2 by Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Suzanne Person to stand trial for their alleged roles in the scheme.

A pretrial hearing for the three is scheduled April 20 in Los Angeles Superior Court.