Woman sentenced real estate scam that caused people to lose their homes

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) UPDATE Nov. 4, 2021, 1:15 p.m. Amy Agtarap was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison for real estate fraud scheme that left many individuals to lose their home.

Veronica Macias spoke to one of the victims, click here to read her story.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Monterey County Jury found Amy Agtarap guilty of real estate fraud, including 12 felonies, including grand theft and forgery. She faces a maximum 10-year sentence, which the judge will determine on Nov. 4.

Many victims throughout California lost their homes because of her negligence, according to the District Attorney's Office.

After a victim filed a complaint with the County's Real Estate Fraud Unit, an investigation found that Agtarap was running an unlicensed mortgage modification business. She was not only illegally charging fees upfront, but she was acting as an unlicensed real estate agent and unlicensed lawyer by filing lawsuits and bankruptcy petitions, without the victim's knowledge.

In the investigation, the DA's office learned that Agtarap was also collecting disability from Social Security from 2008 to 2017, claiming she was disabled and unable to work. After seizing records from 8 different bank accounts -- most under her 5-year-old daughter's name-- the DA determined that she hid over $800,000 of income and cost taxpayers $139,000 for the fraudulent disability claim.