Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Charges from 2011 in California real estate foreclosure auction probe unsealed, (Mar 12, 2014)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

Felony charges filed in June 2011 against two Northern California real estate investors for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions have been unsealed by the federal district court in Oakland. Grant Alvernaz and Douglas Moore pleaded guilty to the charges shortly after they were filed; however, the charges and plea agreements had remained under seal until yesterday (U.S. v. Alvernaz, 4:11-cr-00432; U.S. v. Moore, CR-11-0431).

The charges against Alvernaz and Moore were filed on June 30, 2011. According to court documents, the two men conspired with others not to bid against one another, and instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in California’s Contra Costa and Alameda counties. They also were charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud by fraudulently acquiring title to selected properties sold at the auctions and making and receiving payoffs and diverting money to co-conspirators that would have gone to mortgage holders and others by holding second, private auctions open only to members of the conspiracy.

Moore pleaded guilty to the charges on August 24, 2011, and Alvernaz pleaded guilty to the charges on September 7, 2011. Under the plea agreements, both Moore and Alvernaz agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation.

Attorneys: Craig S. Denney (Snell & Wilmer LLP) for Grant Alvernaz. McGregor W. Scott (Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP) for Douglas Moore.

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