The newly formed Ventura County Real Estate Fraud Advisory Team, or REFAT, will premiere its new video on real estate fraud, “Predatory Practices.”

The video will be shown at REFAT’s first special forum to raise real estate fraud awareness among professionals in the real estate industry. It is one of many steps taken by Ventura County to address the growing issue of real estate fraud in the region.

REFAT was established in conjunction with the county’s District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Program.

The real estate fraud prosecution unit was established to dedicate a prosecutor exclusively to real estate fraud cases.

REFAT was then formed to work hand-in-hand with the prosecution unit, made up of about 20 professionals pulled from various aspects of the real estate community, including legal, mortgage, title, banking, lending and realty.

Part of the team’s mission is to educate the public and real estate professionals as to various schemes occurring, unfortunately at an alarming rate. REFAT had its first meeting in April. While the upcoming October forum will be geared toward the real estate-related community, the team plans to have additional forums for the public in early 2007. After its first showing, the video will be made widely available to real estate offices and organizations.

Weiss said that criminal schemes tend to move north to Ventura County from the Los Angeles area, and target certain classes of victims on a repeated basis. Expert speakers at the Oct. 6 forum will discuss how real estate fraud is perpetrated, the risks, how real estate professionals can end up involved in a fraudulent transaction, how to avoid becoming involved, how to conduct business in a fair and ethical manner, and the types of real estate fraud. A straw buyer, for example, obtains a victim’s identity for one real estate transaction, and then continues to use that identity to buy additional properties. Since multiple loans are being processed at once by different lenders, none are aware of the other transactions.

Some other types of real estate fraud include title transfers designed to inflate valuations, loans obtained with false information or identities, foreclosure exploitation and predatory lending. Perpetrators often take advantage of seniors or non-English speaking individuals who may not fully understand the details of the full real estate transaction, and again, use that victim to purchase multiple properties.

As for the perpetrators, they can come in any form, from licensed real estate agents to individuals posing as real estate professionals.

One tip for preventing being victimized is to always seek professional consultation with a disinterested party, like an attorney, before entering into a real estate agreement.

Since its launch in November 2005, the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Program has already received over 65 referrals and complaints from individuals who believe they were victimized by real estate fraud. Those cases are in various stages of review, investigation and prosecution.

Edwina Baniqued