Modestan pleads guilty in real estate fraud

The mastermind behind a real estate investment scam with victims in Modesto and elsewhere pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of wire fraud.

Xue Heu, 38, of Modesto could face up to 20 years in federal prison on each count when sentenced June 8 in Fresno, but is likely to receive much less under a plea deal requiring that he repay victims $403,469.

Authorities previously said Heu and three conspirators had bilked more than $1.26 million from investors in California and Texas, and he was prosecuted in both states after an investigation by the FBI and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office real estate fraud unit.

Mark Steven Thompson, 36, of Oakdale created websites to lure investors and established email and bank accounts, according to his fall plea bargain. He will be sentenced May 20 in San Antonio.

Heu and Thomas Dickey Price, 72, also of Modesto, pretended to represent government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in selling distressed properties, sometimes using portfolios showing foreclosed homes to be purchased but that in reality already had been sold. They tried to cover their tracks with forged deeds and other phony documents, authorities say.

Heu posed as an officer of Liquid Assets & Land Investments Inc. and Capital Land Investments LLC and sometimes used the alias Michael Chan, while Price went by the names Albert Martin and Matt Taylor. Price’s sentencing is set for April 8 in San Antonio. Another conspirator, Carla Lee Miller, 43, inked a plea deal March 13, according to federal court records.

Heu bilked people from August 2007 to October 2013, and he had been charged with eight counts of wire fraud; six were dropped in the plea deal, court documents say. The agreement notes that he duped more than 10 victims using “sophisticated means” and covers charges in Texas as well as California.

Heu “lulled (victims) into believing the investment opportunities were legitimate and their investment money safe,” a court document says. “In fact, (Heu) used the money for other purposes.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Modestan pleads guilty in real estate fraud."