Woman Charged With Defrauding Lafayette Couple Arrested

"This case is all about greed."

That is Deputy District Attorney Ken McCormick's take on a San Leandro real estate agent's arrest today (Tuesday), after being suspected of defrauding a Lafayette couple out of $270,000. 

Judy T. Gong, 53, was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement, perjury, forgery, tax fraud crimes and an enhancement for excessive loss, and could face up to eight years in prison for the alleged offenses, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

The arrest comes more than two years after the victims, a Lafayette couple in their 50s, called the district attorney's office to complain about Gong, who was controlling the couple's line of home equity credit, according to McCormick.

The couple had inherited a home and contacted Gong about getting a home equity line of credit for the property. An investigation revealed that Gong embezzled the couple's money, pocketing their mortgage payments, McCormick said.

In addition, the real estate agent convinced the couple to get a second mortgage and embezzled those payments, too, he said. On that loan, she used a forged document to transfer money from the loan to her own bank account, the prosecutor said.

Gong pocketed a total of $270,000 from the two mortgages, according to the district attorney's office.
           
During the investigation into the alleged embezzlement, the district attorney's office sent Gong's bank records to the state franchise tax board.
           
The state investigation revealed that Gong had committed major tax crimes -- underreporting her income by $500,000 in 2008 and failing to report $418,000 in 2009, prosecutors said.
           
After her arrest in San Leandro this morning, Gong was taken to county jail in Martinez, where she is being held on $400,000.
           
Anyone else who believes they have been victimized by Gong is asked to call the district attorney's real estate fraud unit at (925) 957-2200.