SAN DIEGO -- Punta Banda is a seaside retreat in Mexico located two hours from San Diego.

However, many Americans have been kicked out of the Punta Banda homes they thought they were leasing for 99 years.

10News interviewed American Alex Sanchez and his wife, Sally, as they were being forced from their home in 2000.

"It was the worst thing I've ever seen. I could not believe how heavy handed they were," said Sally Sanchez.

One of the men behind the land deal gone bad is Steven Charles Pedroarena, who also goes by Esteban Carlos Pedroarena Toomey.

He told investors he was born in Mexico. Apparently, he told the Mexican army the same thing, because they helped him evict the Americans from the land unless they were willing to come up with more money.

The I-Team learned that Esteban Carlos Pedroarena Toomey was not born in Mexico.

So, what's the truth?

His American birth certificate showed he was born at Mercy Hospital in San Diego in 1951, under the last name Pedroarena. But a Mexican birth certificate the I-Team obtained showed him being born the same day but in a different place -- Tecate, Mexico.

A man with two names and two countries of birth? If you're confused, you are not alone. His victims, the U.S. government and the I-Team are confused as well. It has taken five years to get to this point of the investigation.

Pedroarena used his Mexican name to lure investors into a scheme to buy into the 1,600-acre Rancho San Valentin in Tecate, his Baja ranch.

He used his American name when doing business in the U.S., and his Mexican identity for his various enterprises south of the border.

Even his sister came to the I-Team after she said her brother stole the property they owned together.

Leslie Pedroarena and her brother inherited properties in Punta Banda and Tecate after their parents died. She said her brother stole the property from her.

"He came to my door and said, 'I have my ways. If you cross the Mexican border, I'm going to put you in jail for good,'' said Leslie Pedroarena.

Ralph Nieders has known Pedroarena for 10 years. He said, "His entire life has been a lie. I thought he was an honest, straight-shooter."

Nieders and other investors loaned him $300,000 to grow an Asian cucumber crop in Baja. Pedroarena told him the crop was a sure thing.

"Unfortunately, he pocketed all of the money," said Nieders.

Pedroarena's numerous sour deals led him to seek protection in U.S. bankruptcy court. However, he lied on the bankruptcy filing, failing to report income.

Pedroarena also failed to pay taxes on income earned during 2000, 2001 and 2002.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has been doing its own investigation of the man who claims he was born twice.

Pedroarena has now agreed to plead guilty to bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion. He could face 10 years in prison and pay $320,000 in fines.

The 18-month investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office turned up a lot of information on Pedroarena.

This may prove damaging in a pending trial in Mexico, where Pedroarena faces claims of fraud brought by Mexican clients.