Latest local news briefs include a federal jury finding a Citrus Heights woman guilty of mortgage fraud, the selection of a new mayor and vice mayor for the city, and final vote count numbers from the November election.
Final vote count numbers for Citrus Heights election certified
Sacramento County elections officials announced completion of the vote count on Dec. 5, with results now certified for the November election. The final vote counts for the Citrus Heights city council election are posted below. Both Bret Daniels and Jeff Slowey won four-year terms on the council and took their oaths of office during the Dec. 8 city council meeting.
Jeff Slowey: 23.4% — 10,805 votes
Bret Daniels: 19.2% — 8,877 votes
Marcel Weiland: 14.1% — 6,524 votes
Rick Doyle: 13.7% — 6,323 votes
Tim Schaefer: 12.6% — 5,803 votes
Amor Taylor: 12.1% — 5,565 votes
Michael Nishimura: 2.5% — 1,150 votes
Porsche Middleton: 2.3% — 1,082 votes
New Citrus Heights mayor, vice mayor selected by council
Jeff Slowey was selected to become the mayor of Citrus Heights by unanimous vote of the city council on Thursday night, replacing Jeannie Bruins. Steve Miller was also selected to serve as the city’s vice mayor for a one-year term. The five-member council votes in a new mayor and vice mayor from among its ranks each year.
Both Slowey and Miller first joined the city council after being appointed to fill past vacancies. Slowey was appointed in 2003 to fill a vacancy left by then-Mayor Bill Hughes, and Miller was appointed to fill a vacancy left by Councilman Bret Daniels, who resigned in 2005. The two have each won multiple re-election campaigns since being appointed. (See full bio’s: Vice Mayor Miller, Mayor Jeff Slowey)
Citrus Heights woman could face 30 years in prison for mortgage fraud
A federal jury has found 59-year-old Dianna Woods, of Citrus Heights, guilty of four counts of making false statements on loan applications — the sixth conviction in a related string of mortgage fraud cases in the area. According to a Dec. 5 news release from the Department of Justice, Woods was a licensed real estate saleswoman who worked at VLD Realty, a company operating as “Trade House USA” that built and sold homes in the Sacramento area.
During the weak housing market from 2006 to 2008, VLD sought to sell houses by offering incentives to buyers and “offered to pay the down payment or offered to give the buyers money after the sale, neither of which was disclosed to the lenders,” the DOJ said. Woods “purchased two houses based on the undisclosed kickbacks” and also “signed and submitted loan applications and other documents that contained false statements as to Woods’ income, employment, assets, the purpose of the property, the sales price, and whether the down payment was borrowed.” She also assisted another buyer in making false statements to obtain loans. Woods is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 27, 2017, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count, according to the DOJ. (See DOJ news release)
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