Notorious Elk Grove landlord convicted of fraud, faces 13 years in prison

Raghvendra Singh (left) and Kiran Rawat. | 

A notorious landlord who owned a residence on Elk Grove's westside that was the focus of community efforts was convicted yesterday in Sacramento Superior Court 14 counts of felony filing false or forged documents and two counts of felony conspiracy to commit a crime.

Raghvendra Singh was convicted on the counts and also found that he committed more than one violation of filing a false or forged document and that the cumulative amount exceeded $100,000. His wife, Kiran Rawat, pled guilty to two counts of accessory after the fact. 

Singh and his wife owned the Demonte Way residence that many neighbors said had live-in residents involved in prostitution and drugs and was the subject of numerous call for service with police. Along with the Demonte Way residence, Singh and his wife had a long history of allegedly fraudulent real estate dealings. 

This case revolves around four separate litigations in which the defendant filed false proofs of service of motions filed with the court. Singh took advantage of the fraudulent proofs of service to obtain court judgments in his favor, without the other party even knowing of the proceeding. 

In one instance, he filed a civil action under his wife’s name for $90 million the neighborhood watch commander, Nathan Champion, who pushed the City of Elk Grove to address the problem. Singh didn't serve the summons or complaints, so when the case came up for hearing he received a default judgment against Champion. 

Singh faces a maximum of 13 years in prison and has a sentencing hearing on March 6 in Department 20 of the Sacramento Superior Court. Under the plea agreement, Rawat will be sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years probation. 

As a condition of probation, Rawat agreed to place seven properties in receivership and to cooperate with their sale to a legitimate owner.