Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The most recent high-profile real estate fraud case in the Sacramento area involves Christopher Jackson and his company, Genesis Innovations. But in 2009, a Roseville man was charged with defrauding investors in a similar scheme.
An FBI agent investigating a suspected $100 million real estate Ponzi scheme said the man at the center of the probe admitted deceiving his investors. Lawrence Leland “Lee” Loomis, 52, is the founder of Loomis Wealth Solutions and several related companies that the FBI and IRS believe defrauded hundreds of investors and lenders in a multi-layered investment scheme.
Among the allegations is that Loomis lulled investors in his NARAS fund into thinking their money was safe by sending them false statements indicating a steadily-increasing balance. Loomis’ literature promised a 12% annual return.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins. I represent a plaintiff in the real estate fraud case filed recently in Sacramento superior court against Christopher Jackson and Genesis Innovations.
FBI special agent Kathleen Nicolls said Loomis admitted the NARAS statements were false during an interview on August 15, 2009, eleven days before federal agents searched his Roseville offices and Granite Bay home. Agents hauled away hundreds of boxes of documents and dozens of computers.
The revelation came in a civil complaint filed in Sacramento federal court seeking to liquidate $462,300 in cash seized by court order last summer from two Washington Mutual bank accounts controlled by Loomis. The civil complaint sets the stage for a possible criminal indictment.
The forfeiture action lays out additional elements of the alleged fraud, including builder bailouts.
Nicolls said Loomis and his associates approached new home and condominium builders in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Florida and bought distressed properties in bulk at substantial discounts. In an almost simultaneous transaction, Loomis would then sell the properties to his investors at up to double his cost, she said. Bank financing was obtained using inflated appraisals and fraudulent loan documents with Loomis and his associates pocketing the difference, according to Nicolls.
In a classic Ponzi scheme, payments to early investors are covered by new money brought in by subsequent investors. The FBI said the Loomis scheme began collapsing last spring when the payments stopped. One Sacramento-area woman who asked not to be identified said she and her husband bought four homes and condos in California, Arizona, and Florida in 2007 and 2008. She said three of the four were never rented and cash flow from the fourth doesn’t cover the expenses. All four properties are now in foreclosure. The couple also invested $350,000 in Loomis’ NARAS fund, which they suspect is lost.
The woman told News10 Loomis was extremely convincing while conducting his wealth seminars. “This has really rocked our sense of good judgment. We don’t know who to trust,” she said.
If you have been a victim of real estate fraud and want me to evaluate your case for free, please call me at 916.444.4444, or use the e-mail response.