On Friday, it was announced that a 59-year-old former developer had pleaded guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements to a federally insured financial institution. United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced that former Roseville developer, Abolghasseni “Abe” Alizadeh, had pleaded guilty. Court documents explain that the Sacramento-area commercial real estate developer, restauranteur and owner of Kobra Properties came up with a scheme to fraudulently buy land that he intended to develop.
Banks typically loan anywhere from 60 to 65 percent of the loan-to-value ratio of undeveloped commercial property. To get a higher level of financing, the defendant submitted altered purchase contracts to the banks that significantly increased the purported purchase price. The banks were unaware that the purchase prizes had been inflated. By hiding the true purchase prices from the banks, the defendant acquired substantial cash amounts, sometimes in the millions of dollars at the close of escrow.
Alizadeh was aided by co-defendant, 64-year-old Mary Sue Weaver of Scottsdale, Arizona. The co-defendant formerly resided in Lincoln, California and was employed by a local title company. The plea agreement explains that Alizadeh often wrote checks for the down payment. However, he did not have the funds to cover the checks, so he would contact Weaver and ask her to delay depositing the checks until the escrow closed.
After the escrow closed, Weaver moved funds from the title company’s escrow trust account to Kobra Properties. Then, the money was used to cover the down payment and other costs. This made it appear that Alizadeh was making a substantial down payment. In reality, he was not. Again, Abolghasseni Alizadeh of Granite Bay has pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to a federally insured financial institution. Additional details have been made available here.