Fresno, California - Xue Heu, 38, of Modesto, pleaded guilty today to two counts of wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent real estate investment scheme, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, between August 2007 and October 2013, Heu solicited individuals to invest in real estate businesses that purchased and sold real estate. Heu claimed to be an officer of Liquid Assets & Land Investments Inc. and Capital Land Investments LLC. In furtherance of the scheme and to persuade the investors that the investment opportunities were legitimate, Heu gave investors fraudulent documents, such as forged and fictitious grant deeds, fraudulent HUD-1 settlement statements, and portfolio listings of properties he claimed he intended to purchase, including properties that had already been sold and were no longer available to purchase. In his plea agreement, Heu admitted to defrauding investors of approximately $412,896.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Baker is prosecuting the case.

Heu is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on June 8, 2015. The maximum statutory penalty for each of the two counts of wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.