Calif Man Pleads Guilty To Foreclosure Bid Rigging

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors say a Northern California man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids at foreclosure auctions in a county among the hardest hit by the real estate bust.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California says 38-year-old Yama Marifat of Pleasanton pleaded guilty Friday to the conspiracy.

Prosecutors say Marifat and a group of real estate speculators agreed not to bid against each other at San Joaquin County public foreclosure auctions to keep prices down.

The group would then hold a private auction where the property went to the conspirator willing to pay the most above the public price.

Marifat faces up to 10 years in prison for bid rigging and 30 years for mail fraud, plus fines up to at least $2 million.

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