Calif. mortgage fraud brings 15-month prison term

The Associated Press

Sacramento, CA - A Stockton man has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for his part in a mortgage fraud scheme during the height of the housing boom.

Prosecutors say 45-year-old Jose Serrano recruited fake buyers for homes in the Stockton area between 2003 and 2005.

He pleaded guilty to helping 37-year-old Iftikhar Ahmad of Stockton sell 10 homes to fraudulently obtain more than $1.5 million in loans. Two mortgage brokers and two former employees of Long Beach Mortgage, a subsidiary of Washington Mutual Bank, were among others charged in the case. All but one have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Serrano was ordered to pay more than $219,000 in restitution to the bank as part of his sentence Monday.

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