GEORGIA
Two Georgia real estate investors plead guilty today for their roles in bid-rigging and mail fraud conspiracies at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia, according to officials.
The two are the eleventh and twelfth defendants charged in this ongoing investigation, officials said.
Paul Chen and Ira Eisenberg each admitted that they agreed not to bid against others at certain public real estate foreclosure auctions. In addition, they conspired to defraud mortgage holders and homeowners using the mail system, officials said.
“These individuals unlawfully rigged home foreclosure auctions, and then used payoffs and private side auctions to divide among themselves money that should have gone to mortgage holders and homeowners,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
Chen admitted to participating in the conspiracy in Fulton County, Georgia, from as early as February 2009 until at least March 2010. Eisenberg admitted to being involved in August 2009 until at least February 2011.
Additionally, Chen admitted to participating in the DeKalb County, Georgia, conspiracy from November 2009 until September 2011.
According to documents filed with the court, the purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition and divert money to the conspirators that otherwise would have gone to pay off the mortgage and other holders of debt secured by the properties and, in some cases, the defaulting homeowner.