Economic Crimes Division
The Economic Crimes Division prosecutes economic-related crimes, which harm both individuals and businesses in San Diego County. The division was led in 2009 by Division Chief Michael Groch. It is organized into six specialized teams:
- Computer and Technology Crime High-Tech Response Team (CATCH)
- Complex Theft
- Consumer Protection
- Environmental Protection
- Public Assistance Fraud
- Real Estate Fraud
During 2009, the Economic Crimes Division saw a heavy flow of real estate
fraud complaints that increased as the market continued downward. In fact,
the Real Estate Team handled twice as many cases and triple the number
of defendants compared to last year. There was also continued widespread
fraud where suspects were victimizing large numbers of San Diego County
residents to strip their equity from them and leave another homeowner with
a defaulted mortgage.
In 2009, the San Diego County District Attorney expanded its successful outreach program to reach distressed homeowners and warn them of the current schemes being perpetrated against homeowners in default. On a weekly basis, the District Attorney mailed an informational warning brochure to homeowners in the County who had a notice of default filed against their property that week. In 2009, the District Attorney sent out 28,213 brochures.
2009 was an exceptionally busy year in the Economic Crimes Division. Compared to 2008, there was a 39% increase in the number of felony cases reviewed and a 41% increase in the number of felony cases filed. There we many successful prosecutions in 2009, including:
- People v. Yeomans, where a bookkeeper was convicted of embezzling $9.9 million and was sentenced to 18 years state prison.
- A 60 defendant and 360 count indictment for a fraud scheme that included many current and former gang members as part of the conspiracy.
- A grand jury indictment against Larry Smith and 17 others in case for a Real Estate Fraud scheme.
- Conviction of Maurice Simmons and a subsequent prison sentence for his filing “wild deeds” on foreclosed properties and then granting them to himself and others.
