EVERETT, Wash. — The operator of a group of boiler room-style call centers in Everett faces up to 20 years in prison for defrauding more than 1,000 homeowners who faced foreclosures, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday.
Mohammed Zafaranchi, 43, was convicted of 12 federal charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice, after a seven-day trial and a four-hour jury deliberation.
Everett call center scam targets struggling homeowners
Zafaranchi was involved in purchasing data that identified homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments and at risk of losing their homes. Each week, Zafaranchi would send thousands of solicitation letters falsely claiming that the distressed homeowner was eligible for government programs that would reduce their mortgage debt by 30% and their interest rate by 2%.
“The defendant preyed on vulnerable homeowners who were desperate to avoid losing their homes in a difficult economy,” Acting U.S. Attorney Miller said. “He manipulated these people into paying him thousands of dollars they could not afford to lose. Mr. Zafaranchi demonstrated he knew his activities were illegal when he destroyed evidence just after learning the FBI had served search warrants at one of his call centers.”
When homeowners contacted the call centers, operators read from scripts that told each homeowner that lawyers had vetted their case and negotiated deals that could modify their current agreement with their lender. The scripts also placed callers on hold to build suspense and make it appear that a review was being conducted.
The operator would return to the call after the pre-determined amount of time and express to the victim that they were one of the select few who qualified for the program. The victim would then be told that the offer is only valid if $3,000 in legal fees were paid to “finalize” the agreement.
“Each stage of the script was designed to entice the victim into the fraud and get them to pay the fee,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Watts Stanier said.
The DOJ mentioned that within Zafaranchi’s businesses, there was no legal department, and untrained workers were tasked with scanning homeowners’ financial records, completing basic application forms, and sending all documents to the banks. The victim homeowners never received the promised modifications that the company claimed, and some victims lost their homes.
Zafaranchi laundered the victims’ funds through shell bank accounts and withdrew proceeds in cash, conduct that was grounds for Zafaranchi’s money laundering conviction.
On March 29, 2018, the FBI served a search warrant on the call center in Everett. After Zafaranchi learned of the search, he told his California employees to remove computers and all other evidence from the offices in California.
Additionally, Zafaranchi destroyed all records associated with three email accounts he used to operate the businesses, and was convicted of obstruction of justice for these acts.
Zafaranchi and his two co-conspirators, Mark Lezema and Josh Herrera, are all scheduled for sentencing in October.
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