Attorney General Bonta Announces Sentencing in $8 Million Southern California Mortgage Loan Fraud Scheme

Los Angeles-area broker to serve time in prison for defrauding lenders using forged documents and fraudulent records to take out 17 mortgage loans

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the sentencing of a Los Angeles broker, who was involved in a mortgage loan fraud scheme in Southern California. The broker, Alex Ashod Dadourian, defrauded lenders by using forged documents and fraudulent records to obtain more than $8 million in mortgage loans for his clients in order to earn commissions for himself. Today, he was convicted on 91 felony counts of mortgage fraud, grand theft, identity theft, and conspiracy, and was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution. The prosecution was carried out by the California Department of Justice (DOJ)'s Division of Criminal Law, Special Prosecutions Section. 

“We won't stand idly by when bad actors take advantage of their professional position and break the law to enrich themselves,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Those who cheat the system to line their own pockets will be held accountable for their crimes. I want to thank our incredible agents, lawyers, and federal law enforcement partners for uncovering this fraud and for making sure justice is served. The California Department of Justice will continue to fight fraud and financial crimes wherever they occur.”

“The Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), is committed to holding accountable those who waste, steal, or abuse the resources of the Government-Sponsored Enterprises regulated by FHFA, which the defendant has been charged with defrauding,” said Jay Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FHFA-OIG, Western Regional Office. “We are proud to have worked with the California Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners on this case and to demonstrate, once again, that FHFA-OIG will investigate and hold accountable those who seek to victimize the Government-Sponsored Entities supervised and regulated by FHFA.”

“The integrity of the Federal Housing Administration Loan program is a cornerstone to the health and stability of our nation’s housing market and economy,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark T. Kaminsky with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Office of Investigation. “This case demonstrates HUD OIG’s enduring commitment to working with the California Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to investigate and hold accountable those who would perpetrate mortgage fraud or crimes against HUD programs in California.”

Dadourian, 61, was a licensed mortgage loan broker whose company, Success Funding dba Pride Funding, was located in Northridge, California. Investigators found that between 2017 and 2019, Dadourian defrauded financial lenders by taking out 17 mortgage loans based on fraudulent applications and supporting documentation. He forged documents such as employment verifications, inflated earnings statements, and education records that lenders use to assess applicants’ creditworthiness. The employers listed on the applications either did not exist or had no record of having employed the loan applicants. The fraudulent loans totaled more than $8 million and Dadourian received more than $254,000 in fees and commissions from them.

The DOJ carried out this investigation with federal law enforcement partners, including HUD-OIG and FHFA-OIG.