Five Plead Not Guilty to Sham Sales

April 24, 2009


Family and friends of five people arrested on mortgage fraud charges say the accused are honest people who don't know how to cheat. But, prosecutors say they participated in an alleged foreclosure bailout fraud scheme that stripped equity from homes in a failed attempt to save them.

Bobby W. Wood, owner of Asian Pacific Funding; Stephen Balino, owner of New Horizons Financial; Welton Kalani, owner of Accel Mortgage LLC; Carlton Yim, co-owner of Walter P. Yim and Associates; and Audra Palomares, a processor with Accel Mortgage LLC all stand accused of multiple counts of fraud associated with the alleged scheme. All five have pleaded not guilty.

The group allegedly had homeowners in danger of foreclosure agree to a "sham" sale to straw buyers in an attempt to save the home. They reportedly said the homes would be put back in the original owners names and that they could stay in the home. The amount of the new loan was more than the original loan and the properties went into foreclosure. There was almost $2 million in loans obtained in connection with the case.

Read story at The Honolulu Advertiser