Appraiser Pleads Guilty in S&L; Fraud Scheme
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Harlan Wolfe, a Glendale real estate appraiser, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and four counts of failing to file income tax returns in Los Angeles federal court. The crimes occurred while Wolfe was doing appraisals for now-defunct Consolidated Savings Bank, which was based in Orange County.
The conspiracy charge involved a scheme in which Wolfe and other individuals prepared and placed on Consolidated’s books a fraudulent appraisal used to create the false impression for federal regulators that a $500,000 loan to two straw borrowers was an adequately secured real estate loan.
Asst. U.S. Atty. Gregory D. Schetina said Wolfe, 61, faces a maximum of nine years in custody and a $650,000 fine when he is sentenced later this year. Consolidated has been designated as one of the Justice Department’s top 100 priority savings and loan cases nationwide and remains under investigation.
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