A man was charged last Friday with stealing over $3.5 million in a fraudulent scheme of real property theft and renting out houses he took over. Blair Christopher Hanloh, 46, Long Beach, is charged with eight felony counts of grand theft, five felony counts of recording false and forged instruments, one felony count of second degree commercial burglary, and sentencing enhancement allegations for property theft over $65,000, $200,000, $1.3 million, $3.2 million, and aggravated white collar crime over $100,000 and $500,000. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in state prison. Hanloh is scheduled to be arraigned July 14, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

Hanloh owned and operated Blair Hanloh Trustee of Diversified Management Trust (Diversified Management). He is accused of starting this company to file quitclaim deeds to fraudulently transfer properties from himself to Diversified Management. A quitclaim deed is a document filed with the County Recorder’s Office that severs ownership of the person filing from a specified property and passes ownership to another named party. 

Prior to Feb. 1, 2010, Hanloh is accused of going to properties on Birch Tree Lane in Anaheim and Sea Bright Drive in San Clemente to assess whether they were vacant or mid-foreclosure. He did not own these homes. The defendant is accused of posting an abandoned property notice on the houses. After a couple of weeks, Hanloh is accused of fraudulently taking possession of the houses, drilling the locks and entering the homes. He is accused of changing the locks and posting a “No Trespassing” sign on the houses. 

On Feb. 1, 2010, Hanloh is accused of filing two fraudulent quitclaim deeds on Birch Tree and Sea Bright Drive homes. The defendant is accused of fixing up the homes and posting them for rent on Craigslist. He is accused of renting out the properties to unsuspecting families by having them sign a fraudulent lease agreement.

On March 5, 2010, Hanloh is accused of taking possession of and filing a fraudulent quitclaim deed on a property on Rainview Court in Anaheim. Hanloh is accused of entering the house with the intent to commit larceny. On March 11, 2010, Hanloh is accused of fraudulently taking possession of two houses, one in foreclosure on Del Gado Road in Dana Point and the other due to be sold in public auction on Avenida Valencia in San Clemente. He is accused of filing fraudulent quitclaim deeds and renting out the houses to unsuspecting renters by having them sign fraudulent lease agreements.

The Anaheim Police Department began investigating Hanloh after they received a call from the legal owner of the Rainview Court property about tenants in his home that he did not know and had not rented from him. The Orange County District Attorney’s Investigators assisted in the investigation.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Pete Pierce of the Major Fraud Unit is prosecuting this case.