An Orange County woman was sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to crimes related to mortgage fraud. Najia Jalan, 31, of Costa Mesa, used different companies such as United Mortgage Protection, OC NonProfit, American Consumer Law Center, and National Legal Help Center to scam people into paying large fees for legal services related to their mortgages. Jalan is not a licensed attorney and it was unclear if she ever provided any services to the victims.

Julan, and a co-defendant were previously sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2012 for falsely claiming they would provide legal representation for consumers with National Legal Help Center, despite the fact that neither were attorneys. National Legal Help Center and the other companies promised the victims results within specified time frame and charged between $1,000 to $10,000.

Julan pleaded guilty in July in Los Angeles to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. In addition to receiving six years in federal prison, Julan was also ordered to pay her victims $236,000 in restitution. After being released from prison, Julan will then serve three years of supervised release.