A Delano man received nearly eight years for wire fraud and money laundering tied to fake deeds and shell companies
A California man was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in federal prison for his role in a $10 million real estate fraud scheme built on fabricated identities, shell companies, and counterfeit property documents that deceived buyers across the Central Valley.
Gilberto Barron, 26, formerly of Delano and Las Vegas, pleaded guilty on June 29, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. US District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston imposed the sentence in the Eastern District of California.
"Barron chose to engage in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme, and today's sentence makes clear that such criminal conduct will be met with substantial punishment," said US Attorney Eric Grant, Eastern District of California.
Read more: Four charged in $7.3M scheme targeting FHA, VA loan programs
Phantom agents and counterfeit closing documents
Between 2021 and 2022, Barron conspired with Seth Depiano, 45, formerly of Clovis — a federal inmate then serving a 12-year sentence for a prior multimillion-dollar fraud — to create fake identities for supposed real estate agents and build shell companies that mirrored legitimate firms.
The group marketed properties online at discounted prices, including homes whose actual owners had died, to buyers throughout the Central Valley.
At closings, buyers received fabricated deeds, title reports, and supporting documents designed to appear genuine.
Similar tactics — forged identities, counterfeit grant deeds, and falsely notarized documents — surfaced in another Southern California title fraud case in which the scheme cleared lender and escrow checks before it was detected.
Mortgage Professional America has covered comparable California title fraud cases in which forged identities and counterfeit instruments cleared lender and escrow checks undetected.
Matt Seguin, senior principal of fraud solutions at Cotality in Irvine, California, previously told Mortgage Professional America: "Fraud for profit is only 20% of the time, but it's probably 80% of the losses."
The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Center report recorded 12,368 real estate fraud complaints with total losses of $275.1 million, up from $173 million in 2024.
The NAMB's 2026 mortgage fraud awareness campaign urged brokers to treat document verification as their primary defense against identity-based schemes.
Read more: Forged deeds, fake divorce: SF sues to claw back $4.4 million home
Casino laundering and coordinated sentencing
After collecting victims' funds, the group moved proceeds through Las Vegas casinos, depositing large amounts into gaming machines and cashing out quickly with minimal actual play, to conceal the money's criminal origin.
The laundered proceeds were then used to purchase properties for the group's own benefit.
Zahria Barber, 29, of Las Vegas, was sentenced on June 29, to one year in federal prison for laundering casino proceeds. Depiano received nine additional years in January, bringing his cumulative federal sentence to 21 years.
"Mr. Barron didn't just steal money," said David Lowe, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation San Francisco Field Office.
"He took advantage of people's trust by subverting an American financial system for his own gain."
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Bakersfield Police Department led the investigation, with support from the FBI and the Nevada Attorney General's Office.
Stay updated with the freshest mortgage news. Get exclusive interviews, breaking news, and industry events in your inbox, and always be the first to know by subscribing to our FREE daily newsletter.
