A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty to bid rigging and fraud at foreclosure auctions according to the US Department of Justice.
Felony charges were filed on March 25, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, against Mohamed Hanif Omar. According to court documents, from at least as early as Sept. 1, 2009, until at least March 7, 2012, Omar conspired with others not to bid against one another, and instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Gwinnett County, Ga. Omar was also charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud by fraudulently acquiring title to selected Gwinnett County properties sold at public auctions. Additionally, he was charged with making and receiving payoffs and diverting money to co-conspirators that would have gone to mortgage holders and others by holding second, private auctions open only to members of the conspiracy. The department said that the selected properties were then awarded to the conspirators who submitted the highest bids in the second, private auctions.
Atlanta Georgia Real Estate News 