Crisp & Cole staffers may get deal
| Monday, Jun 23 2008 07:09 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:39 PM
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David Crisp and Carl Cole
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Two former Crisp & Cole Real Estate staffers charged with defrauding lenders in a state regulatory complaint entered into settlement discussions on Friday.
It’s unclear whether Jill Louise Pinheiro or Sneha Mohammadi will be permitted to keep their professional licenses, Department of Real Estate spokesman Tom Pool said.
A third former employee charged with wrongdoing, Robinson Nguyen, is not involved in negotiations.
Carl Cole and David Crisp, founding principals of the now-defunct Crisp & Cole agency, were also named in last September’s complaint. The 25-page document alleges the five Crisp & Cole associates, along with unlicensed employees and family members, deceived lenders when they took out more than $12 million worth of loans between 2004 and 2007.
Regulators struck last week’s tentative deal at a Los Angeles settlement conference, a precursor to a trial scheduled for July 28in Bakersfield. If settlement discussions succeed, Mohammadi and Pinheiro will be exempt from the Office of Administrative Hearings trial.
The case against Nguyen, Cole and Crisp is proceeding, Pool said. The three face possible penalties, including the loss of their professional licenses.
Crisp represented himself at the settlement conference, and Cole was accompanied by an attorney from the Fresno law firm Nuttall & Coleman, Pool said.
Crisp and Cole could not be reached Monday. Nuttall & Coleman did not return a call seeking comment.
The FBI is also investigating Crisp and Cole. Federal agents searched 13 addresses linked to Crisp and Cole on Sept. 12, two days after the Department of Real Estate filed its complaint.
No charges have been filed by the FBI.
Crisp & Cole staffers, their family members and business associates are tied to at least $71.6 million worth of troubled loans, an ongoing Californiantally shows.
Most loans were borrowed against single-family homes in the Bakersfield area.
As of last week, lenders had foreclosed on at least 103 properties linked to Cole and Crisp, according to the tally.
