Former Nevada County mortgage broker Scott Stober — currently living in Arizona after being stripped of his real estate license in February — is a central figure in two fraud prosecutions involving hard money loans funded by local investors.

Stober was the broker who brought Robert St. Germain's Granite Hill Court project to investors Richard and Minta Cramer; the Nevada County District Attorney's Office has just refiled a charge of misappropriating funds against St. Germain.

The Cramers also are pursuing a civil case against St. Germain and his wife, as well as Stober.

The civil suit alleges that Stober knew that a previous project of the St. Germains was under-funded and that suppliers and subcontractors were not paid. Stober allegedly knowingly presented a false cost breakdown on the Granite Hill Court project to the Cramers, as well as a falsified credit report and an over-valued appraisal, according to the suit. Stober repeated false statements to the Cramers to induce them to agree to fund the loan in 2008, and helped the St. Germains submit false information to a mortgage company to get a pre-approval letter, the suit alleges.

Stober allegedly knew the St. Germains could not comply with the terms of the $600,000 loan, for which he apparently received $10,500 as payment for being the broker, according to court documents.

The civil case filed by the Cramers against Stober and the St. Germains is on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case filed against St. Germain, although a trial date has been set for January. No criminal charges have been filed against Stober in that case.

Stober connected to federal fraud case

Stober also was the broker in a federal fraud case against Leo Wheeler, a contractor charged with fraud involving a residential development in Lake County.

Wheeler allegedly defrauded 19 investors, many of whom are Nevada County residents, of nearly $1.5 million.

In 2005, Wheeler asked “SS” — identified by several victims in the case as Scott Stober — to begin soliciting investors for a hard money loan for a real estate development project on Hartman Road in Middletown, according to the indictment filed in November 2010.

Stober allegedly told investors the money loaned would go toward improvements in the project, such as water and sewer lines and roads. Stober collected about $1.5 million, but Wheeler diverted the funds to other projects he was developing and for his own personal use, the indictment alleged. Wheeler allegedly created false invoices to fool investors into believing work had been performed and materials provided.

Wheeler also allegedly created fictitious companies and opened bank accounts for those entities, creating invoices that were paid by Stober, according to the indictment.

“Wheeler caused (Stober) falsely to reassure investors that the Hartman Road project was progressing well ... Wheeler and (Stober) discouraged investors from physically inspecting the Hartman Road project, in order to conceal the extent of Wheeler's non-performance.”

Wheeler is considering a plea deal and is set to appear in federal court in Sacramento on Aug. 26.

U.S. Assistant Attorney Russell Carlberg would not confirm that “SS” was Stober, and would not comment on why Stober was not charged in the case.

One victim, who did not want to be identified, called Stober the Bernie Madoff of Alta Sierra, saying, “he's a slippery sucker.”

The investors currently are looking to list the Hartman Road property for $299,000, he said, adding, “Some think that might be optimistic.”

To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4229.