A California scam artist will spend at least eight years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that he defrauded more than 500 distressed homeowners out of $2.2 million by promising that he could help them avoid foreclosure through loan modification and other loss mitigation options.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Kevin Rasher admitted that, between 2011 and 2016, he told distressed borrowers he was either an employee of the Department of Housing and Urban Development or that he was a lawyer, neither of which were true but which help him perpetrate the fraud.
Under the guise of being a HUD employee or a lawyer, Rasher falsely told the struggling borrowers that they had been approved for a reduced mortgage payment or interest rate. Rasher would then tell the borrowers to mail their mortgage payments to one of his businesses, instead of to their lender. Rasher allegedly told the borrowers that he would forward the money to the homeowners’ lenders on their behalf. However, instead of forwarding the money to the lenders, Rasher stole the money.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Rasher stole more than $2.2 million from over 500 victims through the scheme.
