FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
March 4, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 2:11-cr-039-EJG

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A real estate investor pleaded guilty today in U.S. District
Court in Sacramento to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate
foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, Calif., Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney
General of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, and Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S.
Attorney for the Eastern District of California, announced.

Yama Marifat, 38, of Pleasanton, pleaded guilty to conspiring with a group of real estate
speculators who agreed not to bid against each other at certain public real estate foreclosure
auctions in San Joaquin County. The primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and
restrain competition and to obtain selected real estate offered at San Joaquin County public
foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices, the department said in court papers.

According to the court documents, after the conspirators' designated bidder bought a
property at a public auction, they would hold a second, private auction, at which each
participating conspirator would bid the amount above the public auction price he or she was
willing to pay. The conspirator who bid the highest amount at the end of the private auction won
the property. The difference between the price at the public auction and that at the second auction
was the group's illicit profit, and it was divided among the conspirators in payoffs. According to
his plea agreement, Marifat participated in the scheme from in or about April 2009 until in or
about October 2009.

To date, five individuals, including Marifat, have pleaded guilty in connection with this
investigation. On April 16, 2010, Anthony B. Ghio pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy
to rig bids at public foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County. On June 24, 2010, John R.
Vanzetti and Theodore B. Hutz pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy. On Feb. 4, 2011,
Richard W. Northcutt also pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy.

"With our law enforcement partners, the Antitrust Division will continue investigating
and prosecuting anticompetitive practices in real estate foreclosure auctions in the Sacramento
area and into northern California," said Assistant Attorney General Varney.

U.S. Attorney Wagner said: "By rigging public auctions of foreclosed properties, the
defendants who have pleaded guilty as a result of this investigation illegally manipulated the
market for residential real estate. The Department of Justice is committed to improving the transparency and integrity of that market, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute those
who would seek to undermine the market through their illegal activities."

Marifat pleaded guilty to bid rigging, a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a
maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum fine may be
increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the
crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Marifat also pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in
prison and a $1 million fine.

These charges arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation of fraud and bidding
irregularities in certain real estate auctions in San Joaquin County. The investigation is being
conducted by the Antitrust Division's San Francisco Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Eastern District of California, the FBI's Sacramento Division, and the San Joaquin County
District Attorney's Office. Trial attorneys Barbara Nelson, Anna Pletcher and Tai Milder from
the Antitrust Division's San Francisco Office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell L. Carlberg are
prosecuting the case.

Today's plea is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama's Financial Fraud
Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud
Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate
and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of
federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement
who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement
resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and
with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just
and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the
lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. One
component of the task force is the national Mortgage Fraud Working Group, co-chaired by U.S.
Attorney Wagner. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.

Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real estate foreclosure
auctions should contact the Antitrust Division's San Francisco Office at 415-436-6660, visit
www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of
California at 916-554-2700 or the FBI's Sacramento Division at 916-481-9110.

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