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On Feb. 9, real estate investors Dominic Leung of Alameda, Barry Heisner of Brentwood and Hilton Wong of San Ramon pleaded guilty to orchestrating an elaborate real estate auction-rigging scheme.

The three men are among 20 individuals who have agreed to plead guilty to participating in similar schemes. These pleas are among the latest cases that the Department of Justice has filed in its ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

According to court documents, the three men, along with other conspirators, violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by choosing among themselves who should win certain properties at public auctions. The group would then attend the auctions, and allow only the selected winners to bid on the properties. The conspiracy almost guaranteed winners of properties at low prices, as no one else in the conspiracy would bid against them.

The Department of Justice also charged Heisner, Leung and Wong with conspiracy to commit mail fraud not only to acquire title to selected properties sold at public auctions, but also to make and receive payoffs and divert money to co-conspirators.

The money they diverted should have gone to mortgage holders. Court documents state that the three conspirators also fraudulently acquired the titles to certain auctioned properties, and then held private auctions only for their fellow conspirators.

Each violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. Each count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Leung, Heisner and Wong have not yet been sentenced.