A federal judge Monday gave a disbarred attorney several more months to sell his Irvine home to help pay back victims of a fraud scheme before the defendant is sentenced.
Bruce Haglund has been having trouble selling a home estimated to be worth $1.5 million because his wife died in it, attorneys told U.S. District Judge David O. Carter. The plan now is to slash $100,000 from the listing price to help spur offers, they said.
Bankruptcy attorneys handling Haglund’s case say some prospective buyers have reservations about buying the house because of the death in August. They appeared to hint that some prospective buyers have superstitions about ghosts haunting the home.
Carter approved the delay because, “If we can get some money back for the (victims) it is always a plus.”
Prosecutors have recommended that Haglund be sentenced to two years and three months in federal prison. In February 2018, Carter indicated he was considering 18 months to 27 months.
Haglund, who was disbarred in July, did not realize initially that his role in the scheme was illegal, according to his attorney Dyke Huish.
“But when the water was boiling he didn’t get out,” Huish told Carter at the hearing last February. “His mistake, his crime was he should have said no … He should have known better.”
Haglund pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting wire fraud in April 2016 and testified against co-defendant Mark Gelazela of Marina del Rey, who was convicted in September 2016 and sentenced to 41 months in prison.
Gelazela’s victims were told they were investing money that would be spent on leasing and monetizing bank guarantees, according to prosecutors. Investors were told that upon leasing the bank instruments, a credit line would be drawn that would be used for trading that would lead to big profits.
Instead, Gelazela and his co-conspirators spent most of the money on themselves, and some investors were paid off to keep the scheme going, prosecutors said.
About 18 victims lost about $5 million in the scam, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.