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Two brothers from Torrance pleaded guilty Monday to a real estate scam in which “sold” houses that were never available for operations of real estate and for which they obtained $6 million dollars, informed the authorities.
Adolfo Schoneke, aged 44 years old, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to the Department of Justice, between 2013 and 2016, Schoneke and her sister Bianca González, from 39 years, operated escrow companies that they used to put homes up for sale that were not actually available to offer to potential customers.
Adolfo Schoneke and his sister Bianca Gonzalez have pleaded guilty to scamming hundreds of people out of more than $6 million dollars selling homes that were never listed for sale. https://t.co/klPh1ItTV0
—FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) May 3, 2022
Escrow companies were in Cerritos, La Palma, and Long Beach under several different names.
Authorities said the residences were featured on various real estate websites as below market short sales.
Even, on some occasions, the brothers offered days of open doors in the houses that were not for sale after deceiving owners to allow them to use their properties.
The Department of Justice He said that the companies would accept several offers on the same residences and telling each of the possible buyers that their offer had been the winner .
When houses never closed, officials say, Schoneke and González’s partners insisted to potential buyers, sometimes for years, telling them that lenders had to approve short sales.
In total, according to investigations, they estimate that several hundred victims collectively lost more than $6 million due to this real estate scam .
The hearing for Schoneke’s sentencing is scheduled for August 8.
González will be sentenced on October 3.
The brothers could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
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