Modesto fraudster inks plea deal

A Modesto man who swindled at least $350,000 from real estate investors pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud charges in exchange for a four-year prison sentence.

Ralph Leyva, 62, posed as an agent authorized to sell distressed properties foreclosed on by government-sponsored entities, prosecutors said. In 2011, duped investors sent money for six San Diego-area properties purchased through a phony company called California REO Services LLC to another in Modesto called Delta Escrow, authorities say.

Leyva also tried to steal an additional $188,630 from Bank of America, according to documents.

He also went by the names George Anderson and Andrew Taylor and has lived in Nevada and Texas, documents say. He was arrested in Newman in late 2014 after an investigation by the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office real estate fraud unit in cooperation with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees fraud claims involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Formal sentencing is scheduled for June 22.

This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Modesto fraudster inks plea deal."