Hollister
– A local woman pleaded not guilty Friday to felony fraud
charges for her alleged role in a scam to refinance a Hollister
family’s home. She allegedly pocketed $9,600 and forced the family
into foreclosure on their home.
Hollister – A local woman pleaded not guilty Friday to felony fraud charges for her alleged role in a scam to refinance a Hollister family’s home. She allegedly pocketed $9,600 and forced the family into foreclosure on their home.
Diana Maria Lozano, a 35-year-old Hollister resident, approached a local family and offered to help them refinance their home in August, according to officer Rose Betanio, a spokeswoman for the Hollister Police Department. Lozano presented the family with a Shamrock Funding business card with her name on it, Betanio said. Authorities believe Lozano had worked for Shamrock Funding but had left the company in May or June 2006.
As the family began to make cash payments, Lozano allegedly pocketed those payments, causing the victim’s lender to begin sending foreclosure notices in November, San Benito County District Attorney Candice Hooper said.
“She befriended these people,” Hooper said. “They don’t speak English; she speaks Spanish and she took advantage of them.”
Lozano has been charged with obtaining money by false pretenses, grand theft by embezzlement and two counts of forgery, all felonies, according to court documents.
The family gave Lozano $2,100 up front to begin payments on the refinance, Betanio said. The family continued to make payments of $500 to $1,000 a week until November, when the father of the family received his first foreclosure notice, she said.
“He called her and told her he wanted to stop the loan and that he wanted his money back,” Betanio said.
Lozano then wrote a $6,500 check to the family on Dec. 5, but the check’s account had been closed and it bounced, Betanio said. Lozano then wrote a second check to the family in the amount of $5,600 on Dec. 27. Again, the check bounced, Betanio said.
Hooper said the checks Lozano attempted to pass were from her mother’s bank account. The first check Lozano signed with her own name, and the second was signed with her mother’s name, Hooper said.
“The victim tried very hard with (Lozano) to resolve the matter,” Hooper said in court Friday. “She tried to make restitution but those checks were no good.”
The foreclosure has been resolved and the family has found a credible lender to refinance with, Hooper said. But Hooper told the court Friday that the District Attorney’s Office is considering additional charges against Lozano.
Greg LaForge, Lozano’s court-appointed attorney, said Lozano gave the family a payment of $1,500 in December and has begun restitution.
“She’s trying to make amends,” LaForge said.
LaForge told the court that Lozano has a sick 11-year-old daughter at home. He asked San Benito County Superior Court Judge Steven Sanders to consider releasing Lozano on her own recognizance, which Sanders refused, setting a bail of $60,000.
The alleged scam has authorities close to the case concerned.
“Unfortunately when you have people that are not aware of how the process works they can easily be pulled into this type of situation,” Betanio said.
Although he has not heard of this particular type of scam, Karl Skow, a mortgage broker with Pacific Finance Company in Hollister, said it is not surprising to hear of a borrower being taken advantage of in this manner.
“It is not surprising at all because people want to believe the good side,” Skow said. “It may be a very likable person you’re dealing with.”
Skow said there are steps borrowers can take to protect themselves against fraud. He said consumers should not be afraid to talk contact a mortgage lender or broker. He said shopping around and getting a second opinion also helps.
Consumers should be wary of door-to-door and telemarketing lenders who contact them, Skow said.
“There are a lot of fraud issues going on in the mortgage market right now,” he said.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
