MODESTO, Calif. -- Employees at a Central Valley mortgage company are stuck with paychecks they can't cash after the company's chief executive officer and his wife were arrested on charges of bilking customers out of millions of dollars.

Dreamlife Financial had branches from Stockton to Modesto when it suddenly shut down.

"Last Wednesday, they brought our final check and they said Dreamlife's doors are closed. Take your stuff and go. No one saw this coming right before Christmas," former Dreamlife employee Tim Anderson said.

Dreamlife CEO Anthony Daniloo and his wife, Nansi, were arrested Monday on 41 counts of felony grand theft in Alameda County. The couple is suspected of siphoning millions of dollars from Northern California homeowners.

Employees counting on their next paychecks for Christmas shopping instead were laid off and given final checks, which bounced. Still, some workers said they know it could have been worse.

"I feel for the homeowners that were taken by their mortgages for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I lost a paycheck but they're losing their homes," former Dreamlife employee Joe Moralobo said.

Officials said anyone concerned about their own mortgage company can check with the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau, and find out what type of license their mortgage broker has and if it is valid with the state Department of Real Estate or Department of Corporations.