California siblings, 43 and 38, are charged with duping hundreds of victims out of $6 million in real estate scam where they listed homes that weren’t for sale
- Adolfo Schoneke, 43, and 38-year-old Bianca Gonzalez – also known as Blanca Schoneke – each pleaded not guilty to nine charges
- An indictment charged the brother and sister with one count of conspiracy, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft
- If convicted, the duo could face a statutory maximum sentence of 162 years in a federal prison
- Investigators have determined that ‘several hundred victims’ scammed by the siblings collectively lost $6million
- The siblings ‘operated real estate and escrow companies based in Cerritos, La Palma and Long Beach under a variety of names’
- Names included West Coast and MC
Two siblings in California were arrested Tuesday for allegedly orchestrating a $6million real estate fraud scam.
Adolfo Schoneke, 43, and 38-year-old Bianca Gonzalez – also known as Blanca Schoneke – each pleaded not guilty to nine charges. An indictment charged the brother and sister with one count of conspiracy, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
If convicted, the duo could face a statutory maximum sentence of 162 years in a federal prison.
The siblings, along with co-conspirators, ‘operated real estate and escrow companies based in Cerritos, La Palma and Long Beach under a variety of names,’ including West Coast and MCR.
Adolfo Schoneke, 43, and 38-year-old Bianca Gonzalez – along with co-conspirators – ‘operated real estate and escrow companies based in Cerritos, La Palma and Long Beach under a variety of names,’ including West Coast and MCR
According to the indictment, Schoneke and Gonzalez would find properties and claim that they were for sale but in actuality, they didn’t even have the authority to list them for sale.
The siblings would market the properties as short sales ‘providing opportunities for purchases at below-market prices,’ the release states.
Schoneke and Gonzalez used other people’s broker’s licenses to post the listings on Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and other real estate websites.
The indictment alleges that some of the homes were ‘marketed through open houses that co-conspirators were able to host after tricking homeowners into allowing their homes to be used.’
Co-conspirators took multiple offers for each property, leading victims to believe that their offers were the only ones accepted. Some victims were strung along for years as co-conspirators told them that closings were being delayed as lenders needed to approve the short sales,according to the release.
A trial date has been scheduled for June 1 and both Schoneke and Gonzalez will remain in custody at least until their detention hearings, the release states. Schoneke’s hearing is scheduled for Friday while his sister’s is scheduled for April 13.
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