A former Delano man faces up to two decades in prison for his part in a $10 million real estate fraud scheme.
Gilberto Barron, 26, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
Driving the news: Barron and others worked with federal inmate Seth Depiano, 44, to commit their real estate fraud scheme. Depiano was serving a 12-year sentence for a previous multimillion-dollar case at the time.
Depiano, Barron and others created fake identities for supposed real estate agents and shell companies that mirrored the names of real companies. They used the fake identities and shell companies to market properties online that were not actually for sale in the Central Valley and elsewhere at discounted prices.
Barron and others met with the buyers using fake identities to close the sales and even presented the buyers with fabricated deeds, title reports and other real estate documents.
After making the fraudulent sales, they would launder the money primarily through Las Vegas casinos, putting large amounts of money into gaming machines and quickly cashing out with little to no gaming activity. They then used the laundered money to purchase properties for their own benefit.
What we’re watching: Barron is scheduled to be sentenced on Sep. 28 by U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston.
He faces up to 20 years in prison for the counts of wire fraud and money laundering. He also faces a mandatory minimum penalty of two years consecutive for aggravated identity theft.
Other defendants: Zahria Barber, 28, was sentenced on Monday to one year in prison for her part in the scheme.
Barber, a Las Vegas resident, helped launder the money in the casinos and received payments toward some of her living expenses and student loans in exchange.
Depiano was sentenced in January and received nine years in federal prison, adding to the 12 years he was already serving.