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Orange County District Attorney
Press Release
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Tony Rackauckas, District Attorney
401 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701
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For Immediate Release
Case # 10CF0125
January 22, 2010
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Contacts:
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Susan Kang Schroeder
Public Affairs Counsel
Office: 714-347-8408
Cell: 714-292-2718
Farrah Emami
Spokesperson
Office: 714-347-8405
Cell: 714-323-4486
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LAWYER AND BUSINESS PARTNER ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF DEFRAUDING OVER 400 HOMEOWNERS IN $1.25 MILLION LOAN MODIFICATION SCAM
*A warrant has been issued for a third co-defendant in this case
SANTA ANA A lawyer and his business partner have been arrested on charges of defrauding over 400 victims in a $1.25 million loan modification scam that targeted distressed homeowners. A warrant has been issued for another business partner in this case. Former attorney Christopher Lee Diener, 42, and business partners Stefano Joseph Marrero, 40, and Terrence Green Sr., 43, all neighbors in Ladera Ranch, are each charged with one felony count of conspiracy to commit grand theft and 97 felony counts of grand theft by false pretense with sentencing enhancements for white collar crime and excessive taking. If convicted, the defendants face a sentence ranging from probation up to 70 years in state prison.
Diener and Green were arrested this morning and are being held on $1.5 million bail each. They must prove the money is from a legal and legitimate source before posting bond. They are expected to be arraigned Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. A $1.5 million warrant has been issued for Marrero.
Beginning in March 2008, the defendants are accused of defrauding hundreds of victims by targeting distressed homeowners and offering loan modification services in exchange for advance payment. Marrero and Green were business partners and Diener acted as attorney for their businesses. The three defendants are neighbors in Ladera Ranch and are accused of operating loan modification businesses under the names Home Relief Services, LLC, US Loan Mod Processing, HRS Communications, The Diener Law Firm, and Diener Law Group.
The defendants are accused of making false statements to entice customers to use their loan modification services by stating that they could guarantee loan modifications, negotiate lower interest rates with lenders and reduce the principal owed on a customers mortgage, have second mortgages eliminated or forgiven, and have late fees forgiven by the lenders. They are accused of falsely stating that they could complete the loan modification process in less than 90 days, claiming to have a 90 percent success rate in modifying loans, and offering a 100 percent money-back guarantee if the loan could not be modified.
The defendants are accused of requiring their customers to pay in advance prior to rendering any service and failing to provide the services offered. In total, they are accused of fraudulently taking $1.25 million, including over $350,000 from credit card companies who had to refund cardholders to compensate for the fraud.
The defendants are also accused of soliciting the referral of clients in exchange for payment by approaching local and national real estate brokers and professionals and promising to pay them referral fees for each customer referred. They are accused of traveling to a mortgage bankers convention in Las Vegas to solicit referrals from industry professionals with the promise of payment.
As a result of the loan modification scam, the California Department of Real Estate took action against Marrero and Green in February 2009, issuing a desist and refrain order related to soliciting clients. In October 2009, Diener was involuntarily enrolled as an inactive member of the State Bar of California after the state bar found that his conduct posed a substantial threat of harm to his clients or the public stemming from this loan modification scam. The California Attorney General filed for civil penalties against the three defendants related to this scam, seeking restitution and an injunction from further illegal practices.
This case has been a collaborative effort between the Orange County District Attorneys Office, the State Bar of California, the Department of Real Estate, and the California Attorney Generals Office.
Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Ron Frazier at (714) 347-8691. Deputy District Attorney George McFetridge of the White Collar Crime Team is prosecuting this case.
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