LOS ANGELES : D.A. Sets Up Special Unit Targeting Real Estate Fraud
Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti on Monday announced creation of a special unit that will prosecute real estate fraud, vowing to put behind bars scam artists who rob a vulnerable segment of society. “Real estate fraud preys on the elderly. It preys on low-income families,” Garcetti said.
The unit, made up of three deputy district attorneys and three investigators, is funded for its first year with $500,000 from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America.
The unit is one of two funded from outside the district attorney’s office after a standoff with the County Board of Supervisors was resolved in April, freeing up funds.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Don Tamura, the head of the new unit, said it already is tackling 14 cases, including one in which a man with multiple sclerosis was kicked out of his home under false pretenses and is now living in his car.
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