United States v. Glen Alan Ward
Court Docket Nos: 2:12-cr-00785, 2:00-cr-00338

Three criminal cases are pending before the Honorable Dale S. Fischer in the Central District of California and are part of a plea disposition between defendant Glen Alan Ward, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, and the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department and Justice.

On April 8, 2013, Glen Alan Ward, a/k/a "Jacob Alexander," a/k/a "Sean Hamilton," a/k/a "Brandon Michaels," a/k/a, "Jacob Cohen," a/k/a "David Warner," pleaded guilty in connection with three sets of charges (Dkt Nos. 2:00-cr-338; 2:12-cr-785; 2:13-cr-202), all stemming from a 15-year fraud. At the time of sentencing, the remaining counts in the indictments charged in Dkt Nos. 2:12-cr-785 and 2:13-cr-202 will be dismissed along with the entirety of the Information in 2:00-cr-338. A press release issued by the Department of Justice may be viewed on the web at: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/April/13-crm-394.html.

Ward will be sentenced on July 29, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. before Judge Dale S. Fischer in Courtroom 840, Edward R. Roybal United States Courthouse, 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. You are welcome to attend and be reasonably heard at the sentencing hearing, though your presence is not required.

In 2000, Ward became a federal fugitive when he failed to appear in court after signing a plea agreement, which arose out of federal charges in 2000 in the Central District of California (2:00-cr-338) related to Ward’s early conduct in the scheme. In 2002, Ward was indicted on multiple counts of bankruptcy fraud in the Northern District of California (NDCA No. 4:02-cr-40066, CDCA No. 2:13-cr-202) for continuing the scheme in and around San Francisco, Calif. On Aug. 17, 2012, Ward was indicted on mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, and additional bankruptcy fraud counts in the Central District of California (2:12-cr-785) after fleeing to Canada and continuing his fraud from there. The charges stemmed from a foreclosure-rescue scam that preyed on homeowners who were in jeopardy of losing their homes through foreclosure. Ward's scheme involved using the federal bankruptcy system and its automatic stay to defraud lenders and financial institutions by fraudulently hindering, delaying and obstructing foreclosure actions against property owners who had defaulted on their mortgages.

Ward was arrested in Canada and extradited to the Central District of California for prosecution pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant. He was arraigned on the cases on December 24 and 26, 2012, and will continue to be held without bond until his sentencing. Prior to his arrest, Ward is alleged to have been a federal fugitive for 12 years.

According to the plea agreement filed before U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in the Central District of California, Ward admitted to engaging in a fraud scheme that took place from 1997 to April 5, 2012, the day he was arrested by Canadian authorities. According to the plea agreement, Ward led a scheme that solicited and recruited homeowners whose properties were in danger of imminent foreclosure. Ward promised to delay their foreclosures for as long as the homeowners could afford his $700 monthly fee. Once a homeowner paid the fee, Ward accessed a public bankruptcy database and retrieved the name of an individual debtor who recently filed bankruptcy. Ward admitted that he obtained copies of unsuspecting debtors’ bankruptcy petitions and directed his clients to execute, notarize and record a grant deed transferring generally a 1/100th fractional interest in their distressed home into the name of the debtor that Ward provided. Then, after stealing the debtor’s identity, Ward faxed a copy of the bankruptcy petition, the notarized grant deed and a cover letter to the homeowner’s lender or the lender’s representative, directing it to stop the impending foreclosure sale due to the bankruptcy. Because bankruptcy filings give rise to automatic stays that protect debtors’ properties, the receipt of the bankruptcy petitions and deeds in the debtors’ names forced lenders to cancel foreclosure sales. The lenders, which included banks that received government funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), could not move forward to collect money that was owed to them until getting permission from the bankruptcy courts, thereby repeatedly delaying the lenders’ recovery of their money for months and even years. In addition, if a distressed homeowner wanted to complete a loan modification or short sale, they were left to the mercy of Ward to send them forged deeds, supposedly signed by the debtors, to re-unify their title as required by most lenders. As part of the scheme, Ward delayed the foreclosure sales of approximately 824 distressed properties by using at least 414 bankruptcies filed in 26 judicial districts across the country. During that same period, Ward admitted to collecting more than $1.2 million from his clients who paid for his illegal foreclosure-delay services, all of which he has agreed to forfeit.

If you have suffered losses as a result of this scheme, you have the right to submit a Victim Impact Statement (the form below or a letter addressed to Judge Dale S. Fisher) during the sentencing phase to explain how the crimes affected you. This statement is completely voluntary but is important because it reflects what you are having to personally and financially endure because of the defendant's crimes. Victim impact includes physical, emotional and/or financial loss. If you want to do so, we are asking that you complete the Victim Impact Statement now and mail it to: Special Agent Connie Polite, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 3160, Long Beach, California 90802.

The written information on this website will be updated as new developments arise. If you have any questions about this notice or want to obtain further details on the properties and bankruptcy cases which were used to delay the foreclosures, please contact Special Agent Connie Polite at (562) 983-1484.

A copy of the Plea Agreement can be found by clicking on the link below.

Plea Agreement

Indictment

Victim Impact Statement Form