Seven O.C. defendants charged with defrauding 79 victims with a mortgage and foreclosure scam

Seven suspects are facing multiple felony charges for offering fraudulent mortgage foreclosure consulting and debt consolidations at offices in Tustin and in Santa Ana. In total they are alleged to have defrauded 79 victims out of about $247K. They were, allegedly, going after the most desperate and needy people in Orange County and then stealing from them.

The defendants include Natalie Nava, 36; Amir Khoshnevis, 35; Aaron Pierson, 33; Alejandra Orozco, 27; Maria De La Paz, 24; Payom Ilkhanipour, 34; and Ryan Pelzer, 30. They are each charged with multiple felony counts of conspiracy, money laundering and grand theft with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime between $100,000 and $500,000.

The defendants all worked for Regional Community Services, according to the OCDA. They lied to their victims and offered fake low-interest mortgages then demanded advance payments before the mortgage modifications were approved.

The scam operated from April of 2018 to July of 2018. They wrapped up the operation when a local prosecutor called them and questioned the legality of their operation and services.

The defendants then shut the whole scam down which made it almost impossible for their victims to contact them.

Most of the defendants have been arrested except for Khoshnevis, Pierson and Pelzer, who are considered fugitives. The other defendants will be arraigned on Aug. 5.