SAN DIEGO – Financial executive Peter Cash Doye and notary public and real estate broker Raquel Reid were indicted today for their alleged roles in a massive scheme that generated nearly $50 million in fraudulently-obtained loan proceeds.

According to the indictment, the defendants defrauded lenders into making enormous loans against four multi-million dollar mansions in La Jolla and Del Mar, then used forged documents to make it appear that the loans had been paid off – thereby enabling them to secure additional loans from new lenders who believed the mansions were owned “free and clear.”

According to the indictment, Doye, a senior executive at the real estate investment firm known both as Conix, Inc. and Variant Commercial Real Estate (“VCRE”), negotiated the financing from unsuspecting lenders and investors based on a host of lies about the collateral used to secure the loans. To pull of the scam, Doye, Reid, and their co-conspirators created forged real estate lien “releases” and recorded fraudulent records at the San Diego County Recorder’s Office, wreaking havoc on the chain of title for these homes. Reid notarized the forged documents, helping to make the fraudulent paperwork appear authentic.

Doye’s business partner Courtland Gettel and Arizona attorney Jeffrey Greenberg have each pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. According to their plea agreements, Gettel was the owner of Conix and VCRE, which refurbished single-family homes, purchased distressed debt, and purchased and refurbished commercial real estate projects.

As part of his guilty plea in 2016, Gettel admitted that he and Doye acquired the high-end homes in La Jolla and Del Mar by claiming they would be used as luxury rentals and investment properties—although in fact, Gettel and Doye lived in the properties along with their families. When they needed money to fund other business deals, Gettel and Doye began negotiating with new lenders, pretending that the first loans never existed or had already been paid off. Greenberg admitted that he used his expertise as a lawyer to generate and record fraudulent records, making it appear that prior loans were paid off, to help close the fraudulent deals.

In late 2014, the lenders uncovered the fraud, and began to discover that their secured interests in the properties were worthless. In response to questions from these lenders, Doye, Reid and Gettel agreed to falsely deny knowing anything about the fraudulent loans, and created yet more fraudulent documents to cover their tracks. For example, Reid destroyed her notary book and cut up her notary stamp, and then falsely reported to the California Secretary of State that it had been lost.

But the group defaulted on their obligations to repay the loans, leaving the lenders to dispute the validity of their interests and resulting in tens of millions of dollars in losses from unpaid loans. As part of their pleas, Gettel and Greenberg must forfeit the proceeds they stole from the various lenders and pay restitution to the victims. Doye and Reid were charged with criminal forfeiture as part of the indictment.

Gettel has also admitted that after his guilty plea and while he was awaiting sentencing, he arranged even more fraudulent real estate transactions. He has agreed to recommend a correspondingly higher sentence as a result of his ongoing fraud. Gettel is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes on October 17, 2017, at 10:00 am. Greenberg was disbarred from practicing law in Arizona on October 6, 2016.   back...