Cops probe real estate broker's borrowing habits; investor/lenders claim they can't lean on Lopez liens.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department last week launched an investigation of an East Los Angeles real estate broker, whom a group of elderly investors have accused of bilking them out of their savings.

Some of the investors and their relatives gathered early this month in the offices of West Los Angeles accounting firm Alder, Green & Hasson to compare notes and assess their case against real estate broker Alex P. Lopez. Several investors and their relatives said Lopez borrowed money from them against property that already was highly over-leveraged, and then stopped making payments, leaving them with worthless liens.

After more than a month of accepting information on the case, the sheriff's department last week assigned an investigator -- Det. Mike Gurzi -- to look into the fraud allegations.

"This is a very involved type of case," said Capt. Lee Davenport. "It could take months, up to a year. He (Gurzi) will likely know more in about 60 days."

The 12 investors who have gotten together said they knew Lopez as a personal friend and/or as the man who sold their homes for them before they loaned him money. He came to them individually, asking to borrow cash for a year or more, at 12 to 16 percent interest per year, and offered them second liens against property he owned, they said.

When Lopez couldn't make payments, the investors said they discovered that their liens were worthless because they were far down on lists of lienholders on property that was mortgaged for much more than it was worth.

The investors estimate that about 30 people were collectively bilked out of $5 million. The dozen who have joined forces say they lost $1.6 million.

"These are mostly Hispanic, elderly people who lived in East Los Angeles. They are not a sophisticated group of investors," noted Herb Montenegro, relative of one of the alleged victims.

He requested that his relative's identity not be mentioned.

Title searches revealed the following examples of Lopez's borrowing patterns:

* On a home purchased in 1983 for $25,500, with a $69,600 mortgage taken out through Home Savings of America in 1984, Lopez borrowed an additional $20,000 from Jane and Gilbert Trujillo in 1990 (title recorded in February 1991) and another $40,000 in January 1991 from Victor Kupper, M.D., of Los Angeles.

* In March 1983, Lopez purchased a 16-unit apartment complex in Paramount for $365,000. He took out a mortgage on the property in 1990 from American Savings Bank for $685,000.

In 1990, he borrowed an additional $100,000 from Herbie and Lelia Wilzig on the same property, $93,000 from Nick Agajanian (Lopez's daughter, in a letter to the Wilzigs, claimed this lien was not in exchange for cash but "was created as the result of other transactions") and another $84,100 from Montenegro's relative, for a total of $962,100 in indebtedness on the complex. The bank foreclosed last spring.

* On a duplex purchased for $16,000 in 1980, Lopez borrowed $14,868 from Sophia Flores in 1987, $10,000 from Jane Trujillo in 1987, $65,100 from Great Western Bank in 1991, another $20,200 from Jane Trujillo in 1991, $10,000 from Gloria Apodaca in 1991 and $43,869 from Montenegro's relative in 1991, for a total of $163,854.

Accountant David Green, who was hired by a relative of 80-year-old Blanche Cheroff of San Diego, said Cheroff was living chiefly off the interest from her loan to Lopez -- until he stopped making payments. She loaned the money to Lopez because he was a good friend of her late husband, said Green.

Mrs. Wilzig said she and her husband loaned Lopez a total of $374,000 because he was "a close personal friend." The Wilzigs are among the few who have actually attempted to foreclose on the property they have liens against, but Mrs. Wilzig said she doubts they will collect any money.

Lopez's attorney, Harold Greenberg, said because the investors were friends of his client, Lopez was surprised they went to the sheriff's office.

"I think it hurt him. I think there have been threats made against his wife, and his wife didn't do anything," said Greenberg.

He said he was not yet familiar enough with the specifics of the case to comment on the fraud allegations.

Mrs. Wilzig said that what bothers her more than the money she may have lost is learning that Lopez is still operating.

"We want him stopped," Wilzig said.

The investors also are taking their case to the California Department of Real Estate, aiming to have Lopez's broker's license revoked.

His license was revoked once before in 1985 and restored in 1987, records show.

Some investors also contacted state Sen. Art Torres, D-Los Angeles, about the situation.

Bob Fredenberg, consultant to the Senate Insurance Committee (which is chaired by Torres), said the senator's office called the sheriff's department and offered to assist detectives with their investigation.

Any legislation will have to wait until the investigation is complete, even though that probe likely will take six months to two years, said Fredenberg.

"I think the best we can do is speed the investigation along," he said.