A California real estate broker who owns an escrow business was arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging they fraudulently sold a luxury home and obtained a nearly $1 million loan using stolen identities and false documents.
According to the charges in this case, Glenis Cardona, the broker and owner Golden Escrow, coordinated her scheme with Ivan Reyes and Arshak Akopyan, a.k.a. “John Akopyan.” In late 2023 and January 2024, the trio executed the fraudulent $1.5 million sale of a Burbank home, through which they secured approximately $975,000 in loan proceeds.
To complete this transaction, the trio used the stolen identities of the victim homeowner and a purported buyer. Through her company, Cardona obtained a report to evaluate whether the Burbank property was encumbered with liens, such as legal judgments. The fraudsters then prepared phony identity cards and documents while falsely notarizing the deeds. This paperwork was submitted to a lender who funded the loan.
Cardona purported to represent the victim seller and the victim buyer – even though neither authorized the transaction – and controlled escrow. Tikriti used the victims’ stolen identities to impersonate both the victim seller and the victim buyer. Reyes and Akopyan acted as mortgage brokers and submitted fraudulent loan applications to solicit lenders to fund the illicit transaction.
After the lenders deposited the funds in escrow, Cardona directed the funds to various third-party entities that enabled them to collect the funds later.
The owner of the Burbank house lost possession of the home while the victim buyer became obligated to pay back the $975,000 mortgage. Also impacted was the mortgage lending business that unwittingly approved the funded the loan and the title company that unwittingly insured the transaction.
If convicted, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
It’s too easy to obtain vital identity info by employees of Escrow and Lending institutions. Every pertinent piece of information are required on applications. I often wonder about the security and exposure of information I submitted. There needs to be tighter process and security control with this industry.
Cordona should be under the jail…not in jail.
Does greed and theft ever really pay these days? Fraud is easily found, but when you control escrow, I can see how it happened. Have fun in a “federal” prison. No release for good behavior. Should have thought of that first.
30 days in Federal prison is not enough, tar and feather them
Hi Heidi,
It is not 30 days, it is 30 Years!!
This illustrates how unprotected the major asset most people have is, ands how our legal system and profession fails the public. Note that the article states the buyer is obligated to a loan they did not agree to. And that the owner loses possession of a home they did not enter into contract to sell. Why, in both cases? The law should protect both these parties in this situation and hold the professionals, the lender and title company, and the actual fraudsters responsible. I am currently trying to help a friend resolve something similar regarding a scam artist that defrauded their elderly father and led to the father’s estate losing a $600,000 asset when he passed and the fraud was discovered (a fraudulent marriage and reverse mortgage were involved). Problem is, there is no law enforcement to help in situations like this, you have to hire an attorney, and if you run out of funds to cover the exorbitant retainers they demand (my client shelled out $70,000 and the attorney demanded another $40,000 which they didn’t have so the attorney quit), you’re out of luck and the scammers get away with it.
Maybe I’m wrong but isn’t this money laundering? So would’nt the FBI or Treasury Dept. get involved? Also I don’t believe courts would enforce illegal contracts. Thoughts?