SLO County was targeted by real estate fraud. DA to offer tools to dodge schemes
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office has been on high alert for real estate fraud — and the agency wants to teach the public how to protect themselves from such schemes.
On Jan. 22, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael Frye sentenced Florida resident Oluwaseun Okuwa to serve 12 months in the San Luis Obispo County Jail for attempted grand theft and six months for identity theft after he tried to fraudulently sell a vacant lot, the District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Okuwa’s case was one of 120 reported incidents of attempted real estate fraud in San Luis Obispo County, the release said.
In November, Okuwa tried to sell a vacant San Luis Obispo County lot that he did not own to undercover District Attorney’s Office investigators.
The investigators presented him with a $304,000 for the property. Then, Okuwa “signed a document claiming he was a family member of one of the property owners and that he had been directed to collect the proceeds from the sale of the property on their behalf,” the release said.
The investigators arrested him after he signed the document. Then, with a search warrant, investigators searched his phone and found evidence of a fraudulent real estate transaction in Virginia.
Investigators notified the property owner and escrow company, which stopped the transaction.
The District Attorney’s Office said Okuwa’s crime isn’t unusual for San Luis Obispo County.
Recently, con artists have impersonated San Luis Obispo County property owners, then called real estate agents to list that property for sale, the release said. When a legitimate buyer makes an offer, the con artist initiates a transaction with a title company.
“The impersonators request the documents get sent to them by way of email, citing they are out of the area and cannot meet with the escrow officer in person,” the release said. “Often, the impersonators claim they are undergoing cancer treatment and must utilize their own notary. The required escrow documents containing forged signatures and a fraudulent notary stamp are then shipped back to the title company.”
In April 2023, the District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit received its first report of such an incident.
“Investigators immediately created an information sharing network with all the local REALTOR Associations and other entities involved in real estate transactions,” the release said.
So far, all property owners have dodged these fraudulent sales locally, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Investigators with the District Attorney’s Office “have identified 24 notaries whose commission stamps have been compromised and 70 bank accounts that were being used for the movement of the funds Many of the accounts were opened by people whom they themselves had fallen for a different fraud scheme,” the release said.
How to attend a free fraud seminar
The District Attorney’s Office wants to teach the public to protect themselves from fraud.
On Friday at 9 a.m., the District Attorney’s Office is hosting a free, public three-part fraud seminar in the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors chambers.
“One of the sessions is directed towards real estate sales professionals to educate them on the various real estate fraud schemes that are occurring in San Luis Obispo County,” the release said.
Real estate professionals can report suspicious activity to investigator Eric Vitale at evitale@co.slo.ca.us.
