5 charged in foreclosure bid rigging conspiracy
October 2009, the men "entered into and engaged in a combination and conspiracy to suppress and restrain competition by rigging bids to obtain selected properties offered at public auctions in San Joaquin County."The men agreed not to publicly bid against each other then held private auctions amongst themselves and divided the profits, according to Assistant United States Attorney Russell Carlberg.
The defendants are accused of making more than $2.5 millon of fraud profits with hundreds of properties in San Joaquin County.
Wiley Chandler is the owner and operator of Curry's Warehouse Sales, a discount grocery store on the 1000 block of E. Bianchi Road in Stockton.
Andrew Katakis is the president and owner of California Equity Management Group, located on the 1100 block of 13th street in Modesto.
Federal agents got a warrant and searched Katakis' real estate company in late-September and removed computer files. At the time, a spokesman for the FBI said the search was confidential but the company was under investigation for some time.