An Irvine man who recruited five straw buyers to buy eight residential
properties in San Clemente and the Sacramento-area cities of Rocklin and Roseville has been charged with federal mail fraud, according to the FBI. Alexander A. Romaniolis, 48, was arrested Tuesday in Huntington
Beach for mortgage fraud after a federal grand jury handed down a three-count indictment on March 21, says U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.
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Wagner's statement explains:
Romaniolis
assisted the straw buyers in providing false information to lenders
about their employment, income, assets, and intent to occupy properties
as primary residences. In most cases, the straw buyers claimed to be
executives of companies created and controlled by Romaniolis. According
to the indictment, Romaniolis was responsible for the origination of
more than $5 million in residential mortgage loans in the scheme. All of
the properties were foreclosed on, resulting in a total loss of more
than $2 million.
With a conviction, Romaniolis faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.