The Sacra­mento and San Joaquin Val­ley areas are a hotbed for mort­gage fraud inves­ti­ga­tors. These cases are com­plex and retain­ing a qual­i­fied fed­eral defense attor­ney is essen­tial. Coun­sel should be con­tacted at the first sign an inves­ti­ga­tion is under­way. It is not advis­able to speak with inves­ti­ga­tors (FBI, US Trea­sury Agents, Agents of the Cal­i­for­nia Depart­ment of Real Estate) with­out first dis­cussing the mat­ter with a qual­i­fied attor­ney. These cases are typ­i­cally pros­e­cuted as con­spir­a­cies under 18 U.S.C. 371. Mort­gage bro­kers, loan offi­cers, real estate agents, and employ­ees of mort­gage and real estate firms are all poten­tial defendants.