Chokatos

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs allege that defendant Benny Chetcuti, Jr., represented himself as an experienced real estate developer offering safe investment opportunities in his projects when, in fact, he was operating a Ponzi scheme with John Simonse and their related companies. According to plaintiffs’ complaints, Chetcuti and his company Chetcuti & Associates, Inc. (collectively, Chetcuti) “borrowed money from his victims, usually short term loans, with the promise of high . . . returns.” Chetcuti signed promissory notes and issued deeds of trust to properties owned by himself or “other entities” to secure the loans. Before recording the lenders’ deeds of trust, Chetcuti issued and recorded deeds of trust in favor of Simonse and related entities on unfunded sham loans “that would totally encumber the property.” “Simonse and his other entities would then foreclose on the properties, leaving the victims without any security for their loans, and defendant Simonse and his entities would have free and clear title to the properties, without actually making any loans. Defendant Simonse would then create new entities, and transfer title of the foreclosed properties to the newly created…