A Brea man who duped victims into believing he owned law firms that could help distressed homeowners renegotiate their mortgages pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday.
Bryan D’Antonio, 50, pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, according to federal prosecutors. He claimed to be owner and operator of fake firms Rodis Law Group and America’s Law Group, prosecutors said.
D’Antonio was scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 30.
Between October 2008 and June 2009, D’Antonio got distressed homeowners to pay up to $5,500 to his team of fictitious attorneys to negotiate lower mortgage rates, prosecutors said.
Co-defendant Ronald Rodis, who was the only attorney involved in the scheme, previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Co-defendant Charles Wayne Farris has also previously pleaded guilty.
The scheme took in about $9 million from about 1,500 victims, prosecutors said.
D’Antonio had previously been convicted of mail and wire fraud and was sentenced to four years in prison for a medical billing scheme so he was prohibited from participating in any business involving telemarketing, as was done in the loan-modification scam, prosecutors said.
–City News Service