3 charged in mortgage fraud scheme

A Sacramento grand jury has charged three people in connection to a mortgage fraud scheme that allegedly stole more than $7 million from desperate homeowners facing foreclosure across the state, including the Bay Area.

Steven Rogers, Robert Sedlar and Audrey Gan — the operators of a company called Grand View Financial — allegedly told homeowners that if they transferred their home and paid money to Grand View Financial, the company could eliminate mortgage liens and transfer the home back to them.

From 2015 to 2019, the company allegedly stole more than $7 million from homeowners in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Solano, Placer, Mendocino, El Dorado, San Diego and Sacramento counties, according to a news release from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office.

Rogers, Sedlar and Gan have been charged by a grand jury with conspiracy, grand theft, elder abuse, filing false or forged documents in a public office, and other felony charges related to the allegations, according to the news release.

The indictment and arrests were the result of a joint investigation by the Becerra’s office, the United States Office of Inspector General, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Housing Finance Agency, the U.S. Trustee Program, U.S. Marshals Service; Stanislaus County District Attorney; and El Dorado County District Attorney.

People who believe they were targeted by Grand View Financial are urged to contact the California Department of Justice at 1-800-952-5225, for those within California, or 1-916322-3360 for those who live outside the state.