On October 2, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced that attorney Dean G. Chandler was in court and facing a 50-count indictment for causing homeowners to lose $11 million in a loan modification scheme. A telemarketing salesman, Shelveen Singh, was also arraigned along with Chandler.
According to the indictment, Dean G. Chandler was an attorney at the 1st American Law Center in Oceanside, California. He and the other co-conspirators used “high-pressure” sales techniques and even lied to homeowners who were struggling to make their mortgage payments and facing danger of foreclosure.
The scheme told clients that they would meet with them during a pre-screening process and only approved about 30 percent of those looking for help. The conspirators also told clients that they had a 98 percent success rate in achieving a loan modification. The conspirators also stated that they helped thousands of homeowners in the past, that the 1st American Law Center had operated for 20 years, and that fees would be deposited into a trust account and only be removed if the law office obtained a loan modification.
Chandler faces the following charges:
• 1 count of conspiracy under Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 371
• 11 counts of mail fraud under Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1341
• 37 counts of wire under Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1343
• 1 count of money laundering under Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1957
The conspiracy charge has a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and mandatory restitution. The mail fraud charges have a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and mandatory restitution. The wire fraud charges have a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and mandatory restitution. The money laundering charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and mandatory restitution.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
