(Source: By Matthias Gafni, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. (MCT) - OAKLAND — In September, federal investigators will charge more individuals as part of an FBI investigation into Concord-based developer Seeno Homes and its affiliates, a federal prosecutor told a judge Thursday.
“(The FBI) is still in the process of conducting an investigation, and I suspect additional charges will be filed in September,” prosecutor John Hemann said in an Oakland federal court.
The 2010 FBI raid of the Seeno family’s Concord headquarters has already led to the indictment of sales executive Carey Hendrickson on three counts of wire fraud. The government alleges that Hendrickson, 36, of Martinez, who still works for Seeno Homes, participated in a scheme that inflated the value of four homes she tried to buy in a struggling Pittsburg development owned by her employer.
A federal grand jury indicted her April 24, and she faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Court documents show the developer’s activities fit what the mortgage industry calls a “builder bailout,” which entails inflating the value of homes to help developers maintain a stronger cash flow during down housing markets.
Hendrickson has been free on $50,000 bail.
Hemann told the judge Thursday that federal investigators have collected more than 4,000 pages of loan files, reports on interviews with potential witnesses and other documents.
In addition, they have recovered about 20,000 emails from Hendrickson, Hemann
said.
Hendrickson is due back in court Sept. 13.
Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026. Follow him at Twitter.com/mgafni.
———
©2012 the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)
Visit the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.) at www.contracostatimes.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
