Homes weren’t for sale — but California man still ‘sold’ them for $6 million, feds say

A real estate scam raked in $6 million by “selling” the same homes to multiple buyers — and the homes were never for sale in the first place, federal prosecutors reported.

Adolfo Schoneke, 44, of Torrance, California, pleaded guilty Monday, May 2, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the scheme, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Central California said.

His sister, Bianca Gonzalez, 39, pleaded guilty to the same charge in April, the release said.

They are accused of running a real estate scam from November 2013 to December 2016 along with other people that fraudulently sold homes that weren’t for sale, prosecutors said.

Promoted as below-market short sales, the properties were listed by fake companies in Cerritos, La Palma and Long Beach under a variety of names, the release said.

In some cases, the scammers arranged for open houses with the owners of the homes under false pretenses, prosecutors said.

They also “sold” the same homes to multiple buyers, making each think they were the sole purchaser, the release said.

After each “sale,” scammers strung victims along for years in some cases by pretending that paperwork and signing problems prevented them from taking possession, prosecutors said.

Federal officials estimate that several hundred people lost more than $6 million to the scam.

This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Homes weren’t for sale — but California man still ‘sold’ them for $6 million, feds say."