Fresno County residents may not know it, but there’s an investigative team dedicated to prosecuting real estate fraud, and on Tuesday, the district attorney’s office will present what they’ve done this past year.

From July 1, 2024 to June 30, community members, business owners, and agencies sent the district attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Prosecution team 28 cases for review.

The unit closed eight of those cases, and they are now actively investigating 58 other cases.

The team — made up of one deputy district attorney, two senior investigators, and one paralegal — also filed three new criminal cases. One of those cases involved a elderly man who allegedly had more than $100,000 stolen from him by a close family member.

The district attorney’s office in its presentation said these types of cases require extensive investigation.

“These complex investigations can take anywhere from three months to three years or more to investigate and prosecute to conclusion. Investigations require interviewing victims, witnesses, mortgage, and title/escrow companies, and more,” the presentation stated. “Most investigations require search warrants for documents and/or bank records.”

85-Year-Old Man’s Nephew Allegedly Deceived Him Into Selling Home

One case prosecutors filed involved an 85-year-old man who lived alone and had no children. Relying on a pension and social security, the man was able to take care of himself financially, but his nieces and nephews would also check up on him or take him shopping.

Prosecutors filed a complaint against a nephew who got especially close to the man.

In 2018, the victim gave the nephew power of attorney to help him with his bills. Throughout the years, the defendant began paying his own bills with the victim’s bank accounts. He maxed out credit cards, including a Home Depot card and a Visa card.

The defendant, a real estate agent, then told his uncle he needed to sell his house because payments were going up and the elderly man wasn’t going to be able to afford his expenses.

After selling the home, he moved the victim into a residential care facility. The defendant also received a large commission, depositing about $150,000 into a trust with himself as a trustee.

Another niece discovered what happened and contacted authorities. The investigation showed that the victim’s house payments were not going up, and the monthly cost for the residential home ended up being three times as much as the mortgage.

Over a four-year period, more than $100,000 had been stolen by the defendant. He also named himself as the beneficiary on other assets such as life insurance policies.

How to Report Suspected Real Estate Fraud

People who suspect real estate fraud can contact the district attorney’s office. Crimes investigated by the unit in the past year include forgery, identity theft, foreclosure and loan modification schemes, filing forged or false documents, and elder abuse.

Funding for the program comes from recording fees and the prosecution of real estate fraud cases.

The Fresno County Assessor/Recorder last year announced a free program that alerts property owners about changes to their title as a way to alert people about potential fraud.