CONNECTICUT
A federal judge sentenced Serj Geutssoyan, also known as “Anthony Kirk,” 34 or Santa Ana, to four years in prison and Daniel Shiau, also known as “Scott Decker,” 30, of Irvine, to four years and 10 months behind bars, according to officials.
The judge ordered the men to pay restitution totaling $2.3 million.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Aria Maleki, Geutssoyan, Shiau and others jointly operated a series of California-based companies that falsely purported to provide home mortgage loan modifications and other consumer debt relief services to numerous homeowners in Connecticut and across the United States in exchange for upfront fees.
As a result of this scheme, more than 1,000 homeowners suffered losses totaling more than $3 million, officials said.
The defendants did business, at various times, as “First Choice Financial Group, Inc.,” “First Choice Financial,” “First Choice Debt,” “Legal Modification Firm,” “National Freedom Group,” “Home Care Alliance Group,” “Home Protection Firm,” “Hardship Center,” “Network Solutions Center, Inc.,” “Premiere Financial Center,” “Premiere Financial,” “Rescue Firm,” “International Research Group LLC,” “Hardship Solutions,” “American Loan Center,” “Loan Retention Firm,” “Clear Vision Financial,” “Green Tree Financial Group,” “Green Tree Financial,” “Enigma Fund, Inc.,” “National Aid Group,” “Southern Chapman Group LLC,” “Save Point Financial,” “Best Rate Financial Solutions,” “Best Rate Financial Solution,” “Best Rate Financial,” “Best Rate Finance Group,” “Nation Star Financial,” and “Nation Star Fin Group.”
Maleki presided over the scheme, and Geutssoyan and Shiau were senior members of the sales team.
Geutssoyan and Shiau and other co-conspirators cold-called homeowners and offered to provide mortgage loan modification services to those who were having difficulty repaying their home mortgage loans, according to officials.
The defendants charged homeowners fees that typically ranged from approximately $2,500 to $4,300 for their services.
To induce homeowners to pay these fees, the defendants falsely represented the following:
That the homeowners already had been approved for mortgage loan modifications on extremely favorable terms.
The mortgage loan modifications already had been negotiated with the homeowners’ lenders
The homeowners qualified for and would receive financial assistance under various government mortgage relief programs, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Home Affordable Modification Program
If for some reason the mortgage loan modifications fell through, the homeowners would be entitled to a full refund of their fees.
In fact, the homeowners had not been pre-approved for mortgage loan modifications with lenders, homeowners had not qualified for any financial assistance through government mortgage relief programs, and homeowners didn’t receive refunds when they requested them.
Few homeowners ever received any type of mortgage loan modification through the defendants’ companies, and few homeowners received refunds of their fees, officials said.
Participants in the scheme used pseudonyms and periodically changed their business and operating names to evade detection.
The defendants also directed homeowners to mail their checks to addresses and mail boxes that the defendants and their co-conspirators had set up in states other than California, according to authorities.
The investigation revealed that the top tier of salesmen, including Geutssoyan and Shiau, were paid based on commission and typically earned 45 percent to 50 percent of the final fee, after $750 to $1,000 was taken by Maleki for administrative costs.
On Jan. 21, 2016, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Maleki, Geutssoyan, Shiau and four other California residents with conspiracy and fraud offenses related to this scheme. The defendants were arrested on January 26.
Maleki, Geutssoyan and Shiau each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, officials said.
On July 18, Maleki was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison.
He also forfeited about $350,000 that investigators seized from various bank accounts, approximately $362,000 sized from a Bitcoin account, a $100,000 cashier’s check, and a 2013 Ferrari 458 Italia, according to officials.
The other four defendants also have plead guilty and are await sentencing.