$3.6 Million Fraud Plot Used Several Mortgages on Same House

MARRIED COUPLE AND MORTGAGE BROKER TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR $3.6 MILLION
MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME BY TAKING OUT MULTIPLE MORGAGES ON THE SAME
PROPERTY WITHOUT DISCLOSING TO LENDERS
*Warrant issued for two other defendants in this case

Defendant name (property #): age, residence, charges, and maximum exposure.

Cuc Huong Doan (Property #1): 37, Santa Ana, 2 felony counts of grand
theft, 2 felony counts of recording false and forged instrument, 1
felony count of conspiracy to commit grand theft, sentencing
enhancements for loss over $100,000, aggravated white collar crime over
$500,000 and $100,000, property damage over $150,000, $1,000,000, and
$2,500,000. Maximum exposure is ten years in state prison if convicted.

Trieu Thi Nguyen (Property #2): 59, Rosemead, 4 felony counts of grand
theft, 4 felony counts of recording false and forced instrument, 1
felony count of conspiracy to commit grand theft, sentencing
enhancements for loss over $100,000, aggravated white collar crime over
$500,000 and $100,000, property damage over $150,000, $1,000,000, and
$2,500,000. Maximum exposure is    12 years and 8 months in state
prison if convicted.

Nafees Ahmad Quidwai (Property #3): 54, Fountain Valley, 5 felony
counts grand theft, 5 felony counts of recording false and forged
instrument, 1 felony count of conspiracy to commit grand theft,
sentencing enhancements for loss over $100,000, aggravated white collar
crime over $500,000 and $100,000, property damage over $150,000,
$1,000,000, and $2,500,000.        Maximum exposure is 14 years in
state prison if convicted.

Sabiha Quidwai(Property #3): 34, Fountain Valley, 5 felony counts of
recording false and forged instrument, 1 felony count of conspiracy to
commit grand theft, sentencing enhancements for loss over $100,000,
aggravated white collar crime over $500,000 and $100,000, property
damage over $150,000, $1,000,000, and $2,500,000. Maximum exposure is
10 years and 8 months in state prison if convicted.

Mailan Thu Tran (Property #1, #2, and #3): 45, Newport Coast, 11 felony
counts of grand theft, 1 felony count of conspiracy to commit grand
theft, sentencing enhancements for loss over $100,000, aggravated white
collar crime over $500,000 and $100,000, property damage over $150,000,
$1,000,000, and $2,500,000. Maximum exposure is 14  years and 8 months
in state prison if convicted.

Tran, a mortgage broker who previously owned Money One Lending in
Westminster, is accused of being the mastermind of the mortgage fraud
scheme. A mortgage fraud scheme is a fraudulent scheme in which
defendants deliberately omit or misrepresent facts with the intention
of defrauding lenders. In this scheme, the defendants are accused of
securing multiple mortgages for each property without disclosing that
information to the banks. The banks would not have approved the loans
if they had the true information.

Property #1
On Oct. 2, 2006, defendants Tran and Doan are accused of applying for
and receiving the money from a $250,000 mortgage loan from Bank of
America on Doan's $407,000 home in Corona, despite already having a
mortgage on the Riverside County property. The two defendants are
accused of falsifying the mortgage application by reporting fictitious
occupational information for Doan. They are accused of claiming on the
loan application that Doan was an executive at a fictional company
named Westcoast Biolab making a six figure salary. Two days later, the
defendants are also accused of applying for and receiving an additional
fraudulent $235,000 mortgage loan from Wells Fargo for the same home
owned by Doan. Tran and Doan are accused of falsifying the application
by not reporting Doan's two other mortgages and falsely providing the
same fake company, job, and salary information. The defendants are
accused of receiving approximately $500,000 from the bank in cash,
checks, or wire transfers for personal use.

Property #2
Between Feb. 1, 2005, and Feb. 5, 2007, defendants Tran and Nguyen are
accused of engaging in a similar fraudulent scheme by applying for four
additional mortgage loans at four different banks for Nguyen's Rosemead
home in Los Angeles County. These two defendants are accused of
falsifying Nguyen's occupational information on all four applications
and failing to report any of the mortgage loans previously taken out on
the home. Tran and Nguyen are accused of listing the same fictional
company, job title, and salary that was used on Doan's two mortgage
applications. These defendants are accused of receiving the money from
the four mortgage loans from Mortgage It, Bank of America, Cal
National, and Washington Mutual for Nguyen's property, which was
initially appraised at $550,000. The banks approved the loans based on
the fraudulent information. The defendants are accused of receiving
approximately $1.5 million from the bank in cash, checks, or wire
transfers for personal use.

Property #3
Between Feb. 1, 2007, and Feb. 22, 2007, defendants Tran and Nafees
Quidwai are accused of applying for and obtaining five additional
mortgages at five different banks for Quidwai's $900,000 home in
Fountain Valley. Tran and married couple Nafees and Sabiha Quidwai are
all accused of falsifying the mortgage applications by reporting
fictitious occupational information for Nafees Quidwai. These
defendants are accused of using the same false company name, job title,
and salary for Nafees Quidwai as for the other defendants on their
applications at Bankers West Funding Corporation, California National
Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Washington Mutual. The banks
approved all five of the loans based on the fraudulent information. The
defendants are accused of receiving approximately $2 million from the
bank in wire transfers for personal use. Tran is accused of accepting
$140,000 from the Quidwais for obtaining the loans.

In January 2008, the fraud was discovered by bank investigators, who
noticed discrepancies in the defendants' loan applications. Further
investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed
that the company the defendants listed on their applications was not
real. In September 2009, the FBI referred the case to the Orange County
District Attorney's Office (OCDA) for further joint investigation.

On Dec. 8, 2009, Tran was arrested by Newport Beach Police outside of
her home. That same day, the Quidwais were arrested by Fountain Valley
Police outside of their home. A warrant has been issued for the arrests
of Doan and Nguyen.

The OCDA is prosecuting a consolidated case for all three counties
based on the common scheme used and because Tran's office is located in
Westminster. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional
information is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney
Investigator Ron Frazier at (714) 347-8691.