Real Estate Fraud  What is the Real Estate Fraud Unit?  Under
the direction of District Attorney David W. Paulson, the Real
Estate Fraud Unit consists of two Deputies District Attorney,
three District Attorney Investigators, and a Legal Secretary.
This is a focused unit that vertically investigates and
prosecutes real estate fraud and related crimes. Vertical
prosecution means that the members of this unit handle each case
from the beginning of the investigation through sentencing.  In
2004, District Attorney Paulson realized there was a need for a
vertical prosecution unit that would specialize in real estate
fraud. The volume of the evidence and necessary specialized
knowledge of the subject matter made it very difficult for
Deputies District Attorney on normal assignments to handle real
estate fraud cases. The number of reported cases was growing and
victims increasingly did not have the ability to hire private
civil attorneys to protect them.  The District Attorney and the
Board of Supervisors took advant