$3-Million Real Estate Scam Alleged
A woman who once got an award for Camp Pendleton volunteering is accused of cheating 50 would-be home buyers, including some Marines.

By Mai Tran, Times Staff Writer


A woman once honored for her volunteer work at Camp Pendleton has been arrested, accused of running a real estate scam that authorities say bilked more than $3 million from 50 people, including the families of a dozen troops who have served in Iraq.

Evelyn Corina Oberhuber, 36, of Huntington Beach is being held at Orange County Jail without bail. She is scheduled to be arraigned today in Fullerton on charges including fraud, forgery and filing false documents.

Authorities say Oberhuber, who is married to a Marine and was arrested Thursday, duped would-be home buyers to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for homes in Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Los Angeles and San Diego counties that were in the foreclosure process. Investigators said the homes were offered at below-market prices.

Oberhuber allegedly forged quitclaim deeds and falsified bills of sale. Authorities said no homes were actually bought or sold but that buyers were led to believe they had become homeowners.

Though the homes were in the process of foreclosure, "she was involved in nonexistent or fraudulent real estate transactions," said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

The investigation began when buyers called police in November, saying they had been defrauded.

At least a dozen are Marines stationed in Iraq or at Camp Pendleton, where Oberhuber's husband is a staff sergeant, investigators said.

Oberhuber, who in 2002 was among 35 volunteers who received awards for aiding Camp Pendleton families, worked as a paralegal at a Santa Ana law firm, authorities said, and told prospective buyers she had an inside track because she worked for attorneys who specialized in foreclosure.

Paul Hobbs, a real estate agent, said he met Oberhuber through a friend and wired her $100,000 to buy a three-bedroom, three-bath, 3,000-square-foot condo overlooking Newport Beach Country Club.

"She gave me the account number to put the money in, and that was the last time I saw the $100,000," Hobbs said.

He said Oberhuber mailed him copies of paperwork and a notarized quitclaim. But when the sale did not close in two weeks as promised, Hobbs said, he went to inspect the condo.

"The owner told me he owned the property and that I was out of my mind because the condo was never up for sale," Hobbs said. "He told me to get off the property or he would call the cops. He physically kicked my car with his foot, and he was upset." Hobbs said he asked Oberhuber for his money back and that she wrote him several checks, all of which bounced.

In another deal, Oberhuber allegedly took $300,000 from a Marine and his family to invest in the foreclosed properties. When the Marine returned from his third deployment in Iraq late last year, he said, he confronted Oberhuber but didn't get his money back.

Authorities said another alleged victim gave Oberhuber $55,000 for a house in San Juan Capistrano. But an inspector the buyer hired to check out the house came back and said he had been confronted by the owner.

Ellie