3 accused of bogus home sale
Three people have been arrested in recent weeks on suspicion of orchestrating the bogus sale of a home and collecting the proceeds without the homeowner’s knowledge, authorities said Wednesday.
Investigators with the San Bernardino County district attorney’s real estate fraud unit arrested Stephen Rowe, 48, outside his El Monte home Monday. He faces felony charges of grand theft and forgery.
Jennifer Partlow, 32, of Los Angeles and Sheila Villanueva, 31, of North Hollywood were arrested earlier. Authorities say the three suspects used forged documents to prove ownership, sold the home for $630,000 and collected on a bank loan for that amount.
The home’s actual owner was unaware of the bogus sale. A family currently rents the 2,300-square-foot two-story home from the owner.
The suspects are being held in the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga in lieu of $1-million bail each.
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-- Susannah Rosenblatt
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