San Ramon Couple Convicted of Federal Wire Fraud

A federal grand jury on Tuesday convicted a San Ramon couple of wire fraud, money laundering and making false claims about their citizenship as part of a mortgage fraud scheme.

Prosecutors say that 35-year-old Doris Anyanwu and 37-year-old Hyacinth Udeh – who are married – fraudulently secured 10 mortgages worth a combined $3.7 million to buy or refinance four homes in Hayward, Oakland and San Ramon.

They were each found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, four counts of false claims to U.S. citizenship, according to the U.S. Attorney General's Office.

Anyanwu was also convicted of money laundering.

Federal prosecutors say that Anyanwu and Udeh plotted with Anyanwu's sister and brother-in-law – Linda and Andrew Ashiegbu – to obtain loans from several lenders by making false claims on the loan applications. They also recruited help from a friend, Ursula Ogamba.

Some of those fraudulent statements included exaggerated monthly income, asset balances and U.S. citizenship. They presented false verifications of rent, employment, tax forms and altered bank statements in those loan applications, prosecutors say.

Both couples and the family friend were real estate professionals. Andrew Ashiegbu was a state-licensed broker and his wife a licensed real estate agent. The two owned New Era Mortgage and Realty in Union City.

Udeh sold homes under Andrew Ashiegbu's license. Anyanwu also worked at New Era Mortgage. Ogamba held her own real estate and broker's license through the California Department of Real Estate and was co-owner of EZ Mortgage Realty in Tracy.

Andrew and Linda Ashiegbu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and money laundering. Ogamba pleaded guilty to those same counts plus one for lying to a federal grand jury.

Anyanwu, Udeh and Andrew and Linda Ashiegbu were ordered back to federal court for sentencing on May 18. Ogamba's sentencing is scheduled for May 25.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud is 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine or twice the gross loss or gain from the crime (whichever is greater), according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Each count of wire fraud is punishable by 20 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine. The penalty for monetary transactions using illegally obtained property is a decade in prison and $250,000.

One count of lying to a federal grand jury is punishable by five years imprisonment and another $250,000 fine.

False claims of citizenship can be penalized by three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case stemmed from a lengthy investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s  Homeland Security Investigations. The verdicts came after a weeklong trial before U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer.