Nine Indicted for Sacramento-Area Builder Bailout Mortgage Fraud Scheme

SACRAMENTO—A federal grand jury returned four indictments on September 13, 2012, charging nine individuals with mail fraud and bank fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme involving the purchase of at least 19 homes, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. All four indictments were unsealed today.

The first indictment (docket # 2:12-cr-00327 WBS) charges Svetlana Dubinsky, 48, of Boca Raton, Florida; Serge Doubinski, 29, of San Francisco; and Zinayda Chekayda, 49, of Antelope, California. The second indictment (2:12-cr-00328 JAM) charges Volodymyr Dubinsky, 53, formerly of Folsom, California; Leonid Doubinski, 47, formerly of Copperopolis, California; Edward Khalfin, 55, of San Mateo, California.; and Robin Dimiceli, 50, of Brentwood, California.

The last two indictments charge Diana Woods, 55, of Citrus Heights, California, and Kory Schmidli, 34, of Linden, California (docket #s 2:12-cr-00329 LKK, 2:12-cr-00330 GEB).

According to the indictments, two brothers, Volodymyr Dubinsky and Leonid Doubinski, built, developed, and sold real estate in Carmichael, Sacramento, and Copperopolis. As the real estate market declined, the brothers recruited family members, employees, and associates with good credit to act as straw buyers for residential properties. Licensed mortgage broker Khalfin and licensed real estate salespersons Dimiceli and Woods assisted in the scheme by submitting the loan applications for the straw buyers. They allegedly prepared and submitted applications to lenders that falsely stated the straw buyers’ income, assets, and intent to occupy the homes as their primary residences. The straw buyers included Dimiceli, Woods, Svetlana Dubinsky, Serge Doubinski, Chekayda, and Schmidli.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Todd A. Pickles, R. Steven Lapham, and Lee S. Bickley are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentences, if convicted, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The allegations in the indictment are mere accusations and all persons are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.