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Brentwood Woman Charged In Mortgage Fraud Case

BRENTWOOD (CBS / AP) – A Contra Costa County woman and Las Vegas man face charges for their alleged involvement in a multi-million dollar mortgage scam that bilked more than a thousand homeowners.

Federal prosecutors said Tamara Tikal of Brentwood continued the scam after her husband was arrested on charges of running a sham mortgage rescue company.

Alan Tikal is awaiting trial on allegations that he ran KATN Trust, which offered homeowners cheaper mortgages and promised to cover their existing, more expensive home loan.

Prosecutors said he collected more than $3 million from victims, most of whom lived in California.

The homeowners were allegedly instructed not to pay their original mortgages and ignore correspondence from the lender.

The new charges against Tamara Tikal and Jan Kornfeld stem from evidence seized from the company's Las Vegas office.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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