Five people have been indicted in a foreclosure scam coming out of Southern California.

From DailyBreeze.com:

The defendants visited homeowners defaulting on their mortgages and offered to stop their foreclosures with short-term loans and refinancing options. But instead of applying for refinancing, the defendants allegedly submitted loan applications to banks under the names of the homeowners.

The defendants allegedly pocketed the loan money from the banks, which were never repaid. The victimized homeowners, meanwhile, lost their property titles, according to the indictment.