15-Year Sentence Given for Real Estate Fraud

A Rolling Hills man has been sentenced to 15 years, eight months in federal prison for masterminding a four-year scheme that defrauded at least nine Southern California lenders of millions of dollars.

Steven D. Jones, 49, was convicted earlier this year of racketeering, conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges.

Posing as a wealthy real estate developer, Jones used a network of corrupt real estate people to acquire high-priced homes in San Clemente, Rolling Hills and San Pedro areas without any money down, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Fifteen other defendants were convicted in the case, Assistant U.S. Atty. Jeffrey B. Isaacs said.

As part of the scheme, Jones would submit a loan application, based on false financial histories and credit reports and an inflated appraisal, to obtain a loan well in excess of a property’s value, authorities said.

“He’s very clever, very intelligent and has a lengthy criminal history,” Isaacs said. “This was his biggest, most successful scheme ever. He was a master at creating phony documents.”

The real estate scheme was launched during the heady days of California real estate, when property values were increasing each year by double-digit percentages.

The institutions allegedly defrauded by Jones and the others included Imperial Bank and Associated Mortgage Lending, both in Newport Beach; Franklin Mortgage Capital Corp. in Tustin, Pomona First Federal Savings & Loan, and American Residential Mortgage Corp. of La Jolla.