Title
District Attorney recommending the Board:
1) Receive and file the 20th Annual Report on Real Estate Fraud for Fiscal Year 2024-25; and
2) Adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 104-2025 extending the suspension of the Real Estate Fraud recording fee of $2.00 per recording for an additional one-year period, through September 30, 2026.
FUNDING: Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Fund.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In accordance with Government Code Section 27388(d), the Board of Supervisors is required to annually review the effectiveness of the District Attorney’s (DA) Office efforts in deterring, investigating, and prosecuting Real Estate Fraud crime based upon information provided by the District Attorney via an annual report. The report is attached.
As presented during the 20th Annual Real Estate Fraud Committee held on July 9, 2025, the overall number of FY 2024-25 Real Estate Fraud cases reported to the District Attorney’s Office has increased as compared to the year prior. As of June 30, 2025, a total of 39 cases had been reported to and investigated by the office. The number of Notice of Defaults by homeowners has increased by 3% and the number of Notice of Trustee Sales has decreased by 45% as compared to prior year data.
This year, the office has witnessed a significant increase of organized fraudulent listing attempts originating from outside the United States. This trend is not surprising to El Dorado County and through conversations with Real Estate Fraud Investigators across the state, vacant land is being actively targeted by criminal fraud rings. In the efforts of remaining proactive, the Real Estate Fraud Program Investigator continued to meet with personnel from the El Dorado County Recorder Clerk’s Office to establish avenues of communication for better reporting of potential real estate fraud discovered by their office.
Additionally, the DA’s Office has continued to pursue outreach through social media to alert the public to ...
Click here for full text