He was also ordered to pay $3 million in restitution
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A member of a multimillion-dollar fraudulent mortgage elimination scheme has been sentenced to more than seven years prison and ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The sentence follows Larry Todt’s December 2017 conviction on one count of conspiracy and one count of bank fraud.
Between April 22, 2010, and Nov. 18, 2011, Todt participated in a scheme that purported to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure. Instead, the conspirators altered the chain of title on the homeowners’ properties, sold the residences, and took a share of the proceeds.
Under the scheme, the homeowners were enrolled in a Nevada City-based church, which the conspirators claimed would offer homeowners protection against the banks. As a co-conspirator, Todt ran a branch where he recruited homeowners, processed their documents, and guided the sale of their homes.
Through sham deeds of trust, Todt gave homeowners the false impression that they had refinanced their mortgage loan with a new lender. The scheme then involved fake deeds of reconveyance to make homeowners believe that the true mortgage loan had been discharged.
With title appearing to be clear, the conspirators caused the sale of the homes. They split the proceeds between the co-conspirators and the homeowners. When the scheme unraveled, the conspiracy already sold 37 properties and had recorded fraudulent documents on about another 100 homes they were unable to sell.
Todt’s co-defendants, George Larson and Michael Romano, were sentenced to 121 months and 37 months in prison, respectively. Remus Kirkpatrick and Laura Pezzi have previously pleaded guilty. Tisha Trites and Todd Smith pleaded guilty in related cases. All are awaiting sentencing. Co-defendants John DiChiara and James Castle are awaiting trial.
