Pony Gang

Pony Gang, Mortgage Fraud

2008-03-19: Mortgage Fraud Case Calls for Tighter Regulations

"I haven't seen anything this extreme ever before," said Christina Tusan, the California deputy attorney general assigned to the civil case in which the web of companies is being sued for more than $20 million.

The group is accused of targeting unknowing homeowners whose homes had escalated in value by offering dreamlike mortgage refinancing offers, with promises of cash back and lower monthly payments, Bremner said.

Late Tuesday, the alleged ringleader in the scam, 25-year-old Eric Pony, and his sister, Paulette Pony, 23, turned themselves into police to face charges including conspiracy, grand theft, forgery and elder abuse. Five other suspects were also arrested.

The crackdown began with Eric Pony's company, Lifetime Financial Inc., and spread to others after Pony lost his real estate license last September and transferred his operations to other companies with active mortgage broker licenses, authorities said.

Paulette Pony had her commission as a notary revoked last December, after investigators uncovered a misdemeanor forgery conviction in 2003, more than a year before she became a legal notary. The pair, working with their mother, Wilma Pony, channeled most of their mortgage applications through New Century Mortgage Corp., which has since folded.