california government code 27388 real estate fraud trust fund

7/28/2019 California Government Code 27388 Real Estate Fraud Trust Fund

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June 2013

CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE 27388REAL ESTATE FRAUD PROSECUTION TRUST FUND

Did you know that CA Government Code 27388 provides for a county level "RealEstate Fraud Prosecution Trusts Fund"?

That is funded by a $ surcharge to land title documents upon recording at theRecorders Officer.

That a report must be submitted every Sept 1 to the County Board of Supervisors &Co Treasurer?

That an agency that want to access those funds must submit and application to obtainfunds?

That the Co Treasurer is to review that report re effectiveness measures of prioryear(s) before granting disbursement of new year's funds?

I haven't at this writing reviewed any of the reports yet but I thought you should knowabout the code (google it and read it)...

I called the secretary for the CBS and they were VERY helpful in showing me where

the reports were posted on their website

Here in Santa Barbara County these reports along with the respective County BoardMeeting minutes are posted athttp://santabarbara.legistar.com/Legislation.aspxin the 3 search fields put - Real Estate / All years / Agenda itemsUp will come the archive under real estate.Look for

File # Type Status File CreatedFinal Action Title

12-00665 AgendaItem

Passed 8/9/2012 8/21/2012 Receive and file the RealEstate Fraud ProsecutionProgram Report for FiscalYear 2011/2012.

Click on the hyperlink of a specific report i.e.


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http://santabarbara.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=1187525&GUID=A62BA321-8979-4264-9087-DA4BAF95506C&Options=ID|Text|&Search=real+estate

Do the research for your county...See if

your CBS has implemented the fee by resolution, if $$ is being collected,who requested/got the money,

If they have turned in their annual report that shows what they did with the money,and as a citizen who is familiar with the RE fraud in your area...Is your LawEnforcement taking deterring, investigative and prosecutor actions to protect thecitizens?

Read the report. It is substantive or fluff?

Have you made law enforcement in your county aware of the fraud (showing themfalse recordings in violation of Penal Code 115, 132, 134, 135 etc.)

They may try to tell you that "yours is an individual matter, thus a civil issue that youmust pursue in court vs they deal with criminal actions thus their hands are tied toassist you".

Tell them NO! These fraudulently recorded docs fall under Ca Penal code thus arecriminal matters and fall under their jurisdiction.

Heck...If you need more proof just pull a couple of other docs under other peoplesnames from the recorders office that you can see are fraudulent and show then that itisn't about individual 'you ' it is about the criminal activity of domestic terrorists andLaw enforcement by their oath to office are duty bound to investigate....otherwisetheir negligence could/will create a HUGE legal liability both to them in their officialand individual capacities.

TIP:Pull up "IndyMac", and MERS did an Assignment of Deed of Trust after July 19,

2008 in the name of IndyMac it is fraudulent as IndyMac no longer existed...thus allsubsequent filing on the property are false/ forged/fabricated....[Now don't forget withIndyMac folks, IndyMac just table funding with investor funds and then turningaround selling the loan docs off into securitization thus MERS lost ANY and ALLrights.. beneficiary, nominee, etc.(and none of the intermediary securitizing entitiesnor the REMIC trusts are MERS Members thus agency relationship is non existentw/o a new assignment)]


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File a PROBABLE CAUSE COMPLAINT with a cover sheet "CONSTRUCTIVENOTICE" to your DA and Sheriff's Dept and provide a copy to you County board ofSupervisors.

This puts them all on NOTICE so that later they cant say 'they didn't know' and holdsthem liable

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:This E-mail is protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521 and is confidentialand may be legally privileged. Any unauthorized or improper disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the contentsof this E-mail and attached document(s) is prohibited.Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. This is for educational and informational purposesonly. Take no action on this information without consulting an attorney in your jurisdiction.

Section 27388

(a)

In addition to any other recording fees specified in this code, upon the adoption of a resolutionby the county board of supervisors, a fee of up to three dollars ($3) shall be paid at the time of

recording of every real estate instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to berecorded within that county, except those expressly exempted from payment of recording fees.Real estate instrument is defined for the purpose of this section as a deed of trust, anassignment of deed of trust, a reconveyance, a request for notice, a notice of default, asubstitution of trustee, a notice of trustee sale, and a notice of rescission of declaration of default.Real estate instrument does not include any deed, instrument, or writing subject to theimposition of a documentary transfer tax as defined in Section 11911 of the Revenue andTaxation Code, nor any document required to facilitate the transfer subject to the documentarytransfer tax. The fees, after deduction of any actual and necessary administrative costs incurredby the county in carrying out this section, shall be paid quarterly to the county auditor or directorof finance, to be placed in the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Trust Fund. The amount deducted

for administrative costs shall not exceed 10 percent of the fees paid pursuant to this section.

(b)

Money placed in the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Trust Fund shall be expended to fundprograms to enhance the capacity of local police and prosecutors to deter, investigate, andprosecute real estate fraud crimes. After deduction of the actual and necessary administrative


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costs referred to in subdivision (a), 60 percent of the funds shall be distributed to districtattorneys subject to review pursuant to subdivision (d), and 40 percent of the funds shall bedistributed to local law enforcement agencies within the county in accordance with subdivision(c). In those counties where the investigation of real estate fraud is done exclusively by thedistrict attorney, after deduction of the actual and necessary administrative costs referred to in

subdivision (a), 100 percent of the funds shall be distributed to the district attorney, subject toreview pursuant to subdivision (d). The funds so distributed shall be expended for the exclusivepurpose of deterring, investigating, and prosecuting real estate fraud crimes.

(c)

The county auditor or director of finance shall distribute funds in the Real Estate FraudProsecution Trust Fund to eligible law enforcement agencies within the county pursuant tosubdivision (b), as determined by a Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Trust Fund Committeecomposed of the district attorney, the county chief administrative officer, the chief officerresponsible for consumer protection within the county, and the chief law enforcement officer of

one law enforcement agency receiving funding from the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution TrustFund, the latter being selected by a majority of the other three members of the committee. Thechief law enforcement officer shall be a nonvoting member of the committee and shall serve aone-year term, which may be renewed. Members may appoint representatives of their offices toserve on the committee. If a county lacks a chief officer responsible for consumer protection, thecounty board of supervisors may appoint an appropriate representative to serve on thecommittee. The committee shall establish and publish deadlines and written procedures for locallaw enforcement agencies within the county to apply for the use of funds and shall reviewapplications and make determinations by majority vote as to the award of funds using thefollowing criteria:

(1)

Each law enforcement agency that seeks funds shall submit a written application to thecommittee setting forth in detail the agencys proposed use of the funds.

(2)

In order to qualify for receipt of funds, each law enforcement agency submitting an applicationshall provide written evidence that the agency either:

(A)

Has a unit, division, or section devoted to the investigation or prosecution of real estate fraud, orboth, and the unit, division, or section has been in existence for at least one year prior to theapplication date.

(B)


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Has on a regular basis, during the three years immediately preceding the application date,accepted for investigation or prosecution, or both, and assigned to specific persons employed bythe agency, cases of suspected real estate fraud, and actively investigated and prosecuted thosecases.

(3)

The committees determination to award funds to a law enforcement agency shall be based on,but not be limited to, (A) the number of real estate fraud cases filed in the prior year; (B) thenumber of real estate fraud cases investigated in the prior year; (C) the number of victimsinvolved in the cases filed; and (D) the total aggregated monetary loss suffered by victims,including individuals, associations, institutions, or corporations, as a result of the real estatefraud cases filed, and those under active investigation by that law enforcement agency.

(4)

Each law enforcement agency that, pursuant to this section, has been awarded funds in theprevious year, upon reapplication for funds to the committee in each successive year, in additionto any information the committee may require in paragraph (3), shall be required to submit adetailed accounting of funds received and expended in the prior year. The accounting shallinclude (A) the amount of funds received and expended; (B) the uses to which those funds wereput, including payment of salaries and expenses, purchase of equipment and supplies, and otherexpenditures by type; (C) the number of filed complaints, investigations, arrests, and convictionsthat resulted from the expenditure of the funds; and (D) other relevant information the committeemay reasonably require.

(d)

The county board of supervisors shall annually review the effectiveness of the district attorney indeterring, investigating, and prosecuting real estate fraud crimes based upon informationprovided by the district attorney in an annual report. The district attorney shall submit the annualreport to the board and to the Legislative Analysts Office on or before September 1 of each year.The Legislative Analysts Office shall compile the results and report to the Legislature, detailingboth:

(1)

Facts, based upon, but not limited to, (A) the number of real estate fraud cases filed in the prioryear; (B) the number of real estate fraud cases investigated in the prior year; (C) the number ofvictims involved in the cases filed; (D) the number of convictions obtained in the prior year; and(E) the total aggregated monetary loss suffered by victims, including individuals, associations,institutions, corporations, and other relevant public entities, according to the number of casesfiled, investigations, prosecutions, and convictions obtained.

(2)


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An accounting of funds received and expended in the prior year, which shall include (A) theamount of funds received and expended; (B) the uses to which those funds were put, includingpayment of salaries and expenses, purchase of equipment and supplies, and other expendituresby type; (C) the number of filed complaints, investigations, prosecutions, and convictions thatresulted from the expenditure of funds; and (D) other relevant information provided at the

discretion of the district attorney.

(e)

A county in which a district attorney fails to submit an annual report to the Legislative AnalystsOffice pursuant to the requirements of subdivision (d) shall not expend funds held in thatcountys Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Trust Fund until the district attorney has submitted anannual report for the countys most recent full fiscal year.

(f)

Annual reports submitted to the Legislative Analysts Office pursuant to subdivision (d) shall bemade in a standard form and manner determined by the Legislative Analysts Office, inconsultation with participating law enforcement agencies.

(g)

The intent of the Legislature in enacting this section is to have an impact on real estate fraudinvolving the largest number of victims. To the extent possible, an emphasis should be placed onfraud against individuals whose residences are in danger of, or are in, foreclosure as defined insubdivision (b) of Section 1695.1 of the Civil Code. Case filing decisions continue to be at the

discretion of the prosecutor.

(h)

A district attorneys office or a local enforcement agency that has undertaken investigations andprosecutions that will continue into a subsequent program year may receive nonexpended fundsfrom the previous fiscal year subsequent to the annual submission of information detailing theaccounting of funds received and expended in the prior year.

(i)

No money collected pursuant to this section shall be expended to offset a reduction in any othersource of funds. Funds from the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Trust Fund shall be used only inconnection with criminal investigations or prosecutions involving recorded real estatedocuments.

california government code 27388 real estate fraud trust fund

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