Eric Pony

Former California real estate salesman Eric Pony has been accused of using lies and forgery to sell mortgages at a very high interest rate. Pony and his sister Paulette Pony turned themselves in to authorities late Tuesday, March 18, 2008. A total of seven people were charged in this case. Charges include conspiracy, grand theft, forgery and elder abuse. Hundreds of people may have been victimized by Pony. Sixty of them have already been identified.

The victims were called by people claiming they worked for a company called Lifetime Financial. Victims were told that they would be able to "refinance their homes and cash out funds at fixed interest rates". Instead, they got mortgages at high interest rates which they could not afford to pay back.

1. Age: 25
2. From Tarzana, California
3. Bail: $2.5 million
4. Many people lost their homes
5. Could face up to 24 years in prison
6. Other people involved: Pony's sister Paulette Pony, Jacob Shawn "Coby" Franco, Eli Hassine, Carol Binnie Pencille, Sibpun Ampornpet, Jason Imperial Burbidge
7. Pony reportedly also operates Greenleaf Lending Inc., Virtual Escrow Inc., Olympic Escrow and Direct Credit Solutions Inc.

• Official Site: Lifetime Financial
• BBB: Mortgage Refinancer Offers Lifetime Mortgage Guarantee
• YouTube: Mortgage Scammer Eric Pony (Time: 4:47)
• Topix.net: Eric Pony
• Google News: Eric Pony
• Direct: Alleged Mortgage Scammers Arrested and Shut Down (March 24, 2008)
• USA Today: Seven firms closed in Calif. mortgage fraud probe (March 20, 2008)
  • Investigators have found evidence that signatures were forged on loan documents.
• Forbes.com: Mortgage fraud ring called 'extreme' (March 20, 2008)
• LA Times: State breaks up alleged sub-prime fraud ring (March 19, 2008)
  • "As the mortgage crisis worsens, a growing number of fly-by-night companies are employing utterly brazen tactics to push homeowners into illegal and unconscionable loans," California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said. "The illegal sales practices of these companies . . . included psychological pressure, forgery and outright lies."
• PE.com: S.B. County makes arrests in suspected mortgage fraud ring (March 18, 2008)
  • "The State attorney general's office said it has shut down a complex lending scheme by obtaining a court order to freeze all of the related companies' real estate and bank accounts. It also seized cars and real estate worth millions of dollars owned by Eric Michael Pony, 25, the Tarzana man who is suspected of headed the operation"
• Reuters: Calif. sues six lenders for predatory practices (March 18, 2008)
  • "The defendants used forged loan documents and "bait and switch" tactics to "ensure that loans went through at onerous terms which were never disclosed to victims prior to the close of escrow," the lawsuit said."
• The Sun: Lending scam alleged (March 18, 2008)
  • "Prosecutors allege the lending companies would call their victims late at night and would forge signatures - sometimes blatantly mispelling names."
• CBS2.com: Attorney General Shuts Down 7 Lending Companies (March 18, 2008)
• FOX6.com: Massive Mortgage Fraud Hurts Thousands in California (March 18, 2008)
• Mercury News: Prosecutors shut mortgage firms accused of preying on homeowners (March 18, 2008)
• Business Week: California mortgage fraud ring busted (March 18, 2008)
• LA Times Blogs: Jerry Brown discovers mortgage fraud (March 18, 2008)

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