Maria Santos Sentenced to 365 for Foreclosure Rescue Scam

Press Release Date:

June 30, 2011

District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Maria Victoria Santos (DOB 10/07/55), of Ventura, was sentenced to 365 days in jail and placed on formal probation for a term of 60 months by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edward Brodie. Santos was also ordered to pay approximately $48,000 in restitution to her 15 victims as a term of probation. Santos pleaded guilty in February 2011 to three felony counts of unlawful act by a foreclosure consultant and four felony counts of grand theft.

In an investigation conducted by the District Attorney’s Office, it was determined that Santos ran an illegal real estate foreclosure rescue scam. Santos victimized predominantly monolingual Spanish-speaking Ventura County residents by promising to save their homes from foreclosure provided they pay her thousands of dollars in upfront fees. Santos advertised her foreclosure scam on local Spanish-speaking radio stations in order to lure her victims into her fraudulent program.

County residents are reminded to never pay an upfront fee to an individual or business claiming to provide services to rescue the resident from a pending foreclosure.

Contact:

Dominic Kardum, Deputy District Attorney
(805)662-1739