OAKLAND(BCN)– A real estate investor from San Mateo has agreed to plead guilty

to federal charges of bid rigging and fraud conspiracy at real estate

foreclosure auctions in Alameda County, the U.S. Justice Department announced

today.

Ramin Yeganeh was charged with one count of bid rigging and one

count of mail fraud conspiracy in a document known as an information, filed

in federal court in Oakland today by prosecutors from the Justice

Department’s Antitrust Division.

The department simultaneously announced that Yeganeh has agreed to

plead guilty to the charges. A department spokesperson could not be reached

for comment on when the plea will be entered.

Including Yeganeh, a total of 52 people have pleaded guilty or

promised to do so during the past several years in an ongoing federal probe

of bid rigging at foreclosure auctions in Alameda, Contra Costa, San

Francisco and San Mateo counties.

Another 20 real estate investors are awaiting trial on similar

charges of bid rigging in auctions in Bay Area counties, the department said.

Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer, who heads the Antitrust

Division, said in a statement, “The sheer number of individuals involved in

these conspiracies only emphasizes how critical it is that we remain

committed to investigating and prosecuting those who have corrupted the

public foreclosure auction process.”

The charging document alleges that between May 2008 and October

2010, Yeganeh and unnamed co-conspirators agreed not to bid against one

another and to select a winning bidder at Alameda County foreclosure

auctions.

The documents alleges the conspirators negotiated payoffs for

those who agreed not to compete, and often held a second, private auction

among themselves for the properties obtained through the bid rigging, the

document alleged.

Proceeds from foreclosure auctions are used to pay off the

mortgage and other debts attached to the property, and any remaining funds

are paid to the defaulting homeowner. The alleged scheme diverted money from

banks and homeowners to the conspirator investors, according to the document.

Upon conviction, the bid-rigging charge carries a maximum sentence

of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of either $1 million or twice the

amount of either the gain to the defendant or loss to the victims. The

mail-fraud conspiracy count has a maximum sentence of 30 years and a $1

million fine.