Former Hells Angels President Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison in Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud, Money Laundering Scheme

SAN FRANCISCO—Raymond Foakes, 48, of Rohnert Park, California, was sentenced yesterday to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,085,000 in restitution for his role in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney MELINDA HAAG announced.

The defendant, the former president of the Hells Angels Sonoma Chapter, pleaded guilty on October 25, 2011, to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. According to the plea agreement, Foakes admitted that from 2006 until early 2007, he was involved in a scheme to fraudulently obtain mortgage loans for parcels of real property located in Northern California, including for a property located at Laguna Road in Santa Rosa, California. As part of this conspiracy, Foakes submitted a series of false statements on mortgage loan applications and altered bank statements. For example, the applications falsely stated that he had been self-employed as owner of “Foakes Concrete” for approximately 10 years, where he made approximately $24,000 per month, and the bank statements reflected inflated account balances and recurring deposits. Rather than occupy the property as a primary residence, as he stated on his applications he intended to do, he allowed it to be used as a marijuana grow house. Further, Foakes laundered the criminally derived proceeds by engaging in financial transactions over $10,000.

Foakes was one of several defendants indicted by a federal grand jury in the conspiracy on September 1, 2011. He was charged with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to maintain drug-involved premises.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup. Judge Alsup also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release during which time he will face an expanded search condition and his ability to associate with other members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club will be limited. The defendant will begin serving the sentence immediately, having been in continuous federal custody since his arrest.

Kathryn Haun is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of a multi-year investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Santa Rosa Resident Agency.

Further Information:

Case #: 11 CR 624 WHA

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.