A Guilty Plea

Published: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 3:28 PM PDT

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Robert Decker pleaded guilty today, becoming the last of five defendants in a local mortgage fraud case to do so.

We first told you about Decker's case in this story about renters who are displaced in foreclosure situations.

Robert Carreon considered himself one of Decker's victims. Carreon rented an Oceanside house from Decker and moved his whole family into it. From my story last month:

They'd lived there for just a few months when a detective from the Oceanside Police Department fraud unit knocked on their door. The detective told Carreon there was a search warrant out for the man he'd rented the house from. The man, Bob Decker, was suspected of stealing a college student's identity and buying the house in the student's name without his knowledge. ...

Charges against Decker include a series of grand thefts, identity theft and filing false documents. Four other defendants in the case -- including a Newport Beach chiropractor who shared two of his patients' personal information for purchasing houses in their name, notaries and a mortgage broker -- have pleaded guilty.

The trial has been delayed several times, but today Decker pled guilty, said Deputy District Attorney Stephen Robinson, who was prosecuting the case.

Decker pleaded guilty to three counts of grand theft and three counts of identity theft, and admitted to stealing more than $1 million. Before the plea, he was facing a maximum of 20 years in prison. Now he'll face a six-year stipulated sentence, Robinson said. That sentencing is slated for Oct. 14.

Decker's attorney hasn't yet returned a call for comment this afternoon.

-- KELLY BENNETT

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