A Southern California woman who worked with her brother to operate a $6 million real estate fraud scam, in which homes were listed for sale without the owners' consent and would-be buyers were bilked out of money, was sentenced Monday to three years and 10 months in federal prison.
Bianca Gonzalez, 41, of Walnut, pleaded guilty last year to one federal count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Her brother, Adolfo Schoneke, 46, of Torrance, also admitted his role in the scheme and was sentenced in October 2022 to nine years behind bars.
Schoneke and Gonzalez, with the help of co-conspirators, operated real estate and escrow companies based in Cerritos, La Palma, and Long Beach under various names, including MCR and West Coast.
They admitted finding properties that they would list for sale -- even though many were not on the market, and the pair did not have authority to list them. Prosecutors said they would then market the properties as short sales, providing opportunities for purchases at below-market prices.