Torrance Man and Sister Charged in Multimillion Dollar Real Estate Scam

A Southern California brotherand-sister team were arrested April 6 on federal charges alleging they orchestrated a $6 million real estate fraud in which they listed homes without the owners’ consent and collected money from multiple would-be buyers for each of the notfor-sale homes.

Adolfo Schoneke, 43, of Torrance, and his sister, Bianca Gonzalez, a.k.a. Blanca Schoneke, 38, of Walnut, each pleaded not guilty to nine charges contained in an indictment unsealed after their arrests. The indictment charges Schoneke and Gonzalez with one count of conspiracy, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Schoneke and Gonzalez, allegedly, with the help of co-conspirators, operated real estate and escrow companies based in Cerritos, La Palma and Long Beach under a variety of names, including MCR and West Coast. The indictment alleges Schoneke and Gonzalez found properties that they would list for sale — though many were not for sale. They did not have authority to list them for sale — and they then marketed the properties as short sales providing opportunities for purchases at below-market prices.

Investigators estimate that several hundred victims collectively lost more than $6 million during the scheme.

Both defendants will remain in custody until their respective detention hearings, scheduled for April 9 for Schoneke and April 13 for Gonzalez.

If convicted of all charges, Schoneke and Gonzalez each would face a statutory maximum sentence of 162 years in federal prison.