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Florida woman sentenced to over 4 years in fraud scheme
2008-05-10 00:17:00
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More About: Fraud , Florida , Woman , Convictions , Years

Two former mortgage company principals indicted
2008-05-09 05:31:00
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More About: New York , Company , Mortgage , Indictments , Lenders

Florida AG announces conviction of 2 mortgage brokers
2008-05-07 05:29:00
In the following press release Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that two Hillsborough County men have been convicted of conspiracy to commit racketeering for their involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme. David E. Tuggle, Jr. and Eric S. Steinhauser pleaded guilty today in Polk County and could face up to five years in prison when sentenced in September. As part of the plea agreement, neither man may be employed in the mortgage, title, or real estate industries. The men were prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.Tuggle, 31, and Steinhauser, 29, were part of a criminal enterprise which submitted fraudulent mortgage loan documents to Argent Mortgage Company through Brandon-based Sunstate Mortgage Company. From 2003 through 2005, Tuggle and Steinhauser submitted more than 300 mortgage loan applications to Argent Mortgage. Of those 300 applications, more than 280 were funded and collectively valued at more than $34 million. Inves...
More About: Brokers , Convictions , Broker

Minnesota AG files suit against 6 foreclosure rescue 'consultants"
2008-05-07 05:02:00
The following press release the Minnesota Attorney General, Lori Swanson, announced the filing of six new lawsuits in Hennepin County District Court against foreclosure consulting companies that charged Minnesota homeowners up to $2,375 to save their homes but failed to provide promised assistance that would help them retain home ownership. “We do not tolerate mortgage foreclosure consultants taking advantage of struggling homeowners who are already between a rock and a hard place in the worsening mortgage meltdown,” Swanson said. The lawsuits filed today are against: (1) National Foreclosure Relief, Inc., a Nevada corporation with a California business address; (2) Lewis Loss Mitigation, Inc. of Alabama, which also does business as Stop Foreclosure Center and Lewis and Associates Consulting; (3) D.R. Financial Services Corp. of California, which also does business as D.R. Financial and Superior Home Loans; (4) American Foreclosure Specialists, LLC, an Oklahoma limited l...
More About: Files , Rescue , Consultants

Man indicted in allegations of fraud in two apartment complexes
2008-05-06 17:27:00
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More About: Fraud , Ohio , Indictments

New look front page added
2008-04-29 07:35:00
Our website front page has been revamped to provide graphical and text links to the latest news about mortgage fraud. We will also be resuming our email updates, this being the first.We hope you like the new layout  www.mortgagefraud.org. As ever please feel free to pass your comments along. 
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Two men plead guilty in mortgage fraud case
2008-04-29 06:27:00
In the following press release United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein announced that Kolawole Aminu, age 45, a Nigerian national, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to make a false statement in connection with a scheme to defraud a mortgage lender. Oyekunle Ikudayisi, age 39, of White Plains, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charge on April 23, 2008. According to their plea agreements, Aminu and Ikudayisi conspired with others to purchase properties from a company owned by a co-conspirator. Aminu and Ikudayisi obtained mortgage loans for the properties in their own names, using their good credit histories. The co-conspirator, however, was responsible for making all payments associated with the purchase of the properties, including the down payments, closing costs and mortgage payments. Aminu and Ikudayisi made false statements on loan applications as to their incomes and intent to make the properties their primary residences, and signed settlemen...
More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Case

DC man guilty in forged deed scam
2008-04-29 05:44:00
In the following press release U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, C. André Martin, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office, and Thomas E. Hampton, Commissioner of the District of Columbia ’s Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking announced that a 35-year-old District of Columbia man, Duane McKinney, most recently of 1000 10th Street, NE, Washington, D.C., was found guilty today by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on charges of fraud, theft, and monetary transactions. Specifically, McKinney was found guilty of four counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, three counts of first degree theft, and two counts of monetary transactions. McKinney is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15, 2008, before the Honorable Judge Reggie B. Walton. At sentencing, McKinney faces ...
More About: Convictions , Scam , Guilty

Lake Forest (CA) man indicted in ID Theft case
2008-04-29 04:50:00
In the following press release United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced the indictment and arrest of Micah Bachman, also known as Tyler Jefferies, of Lake Forest , California , for bank fraud, false statements on loan applications, false use of a social security account number, money laundering, false statements to a federal officer, and aggravated identity theft. The 18-count indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury sitting in San Diego on March 11, 2008. Mr. Bachman was arrested today, pursuant to a bench warrant issued in connection with the indictment. According to the indictment, Mr. Bachman created the alter ego of “Tyler Jefferies” and over time built a credit profile for that identity based upon a social security number stolen from a child in Kentucky. Among other things, the indictment alleges that Mr. Bachman created a fake New Mexico driver license for Jefferies and used it to obtain valid driver’s licenses for Jefferies in Utah and Calif...
More About: Indictments , Case , Theft

Valley (CA) man charged with attempting to obtain $500,000 credit line on h
2008-04-29 04:41:00
In the following press release the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced that a man who was renting a Valley Village home has been arrested on federal bank fraud charges for allegedly attempting to secure a $500,000 home equity line of credit on the house. Eduard Sargsyan, 55, was arrested by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation last Thursday afternoon after completing loan documents at a Bank of American branch in Sherman Oaks. According to a criminal complaint filed last Friday, last fall Sargsyan rented the Valley Village home, which was owned by a family trust. In February, a “Trust Transfer Deed” was recorded with the Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office, which transferred title of the home to Sargsyan. In March, Sargsyan used Bank of America’s website to apply for a home equity line of credit on the property. During two meetings at Bank of America where an FBI agent posed as a loan of...
More About: Credit , Line

Concord (CA) woman charges with mortgage fraud
2008-04-29 04:27:00
In the following press release United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that Cheryl Hernandez Camus of Concord, California made her initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on April 22, 2008 before United States Magistrate Judge James Larson. A federal grand jury in San Francisco had previously indicted Ms. Camus on April 8, 2008 on charges of mail and wire fraud in connection with a Ponzi scheme. Ms. Camus is scheduled for her next appearance in federal court in San Francisco on April 29, 2008 before United States Magistrate Judge James Larson and on May 5, 2008 before United States District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. According to the indictment, Ms. Camus, 36, is alleged to have made a number of misrepresentations about a money lending investment, where she promised fixed returns and the return of the principle investment within a fixed period of time. The indictment alleges that Ms. Camus made one or more of the following material false representations ...
More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Woman

Three Ohio men indicted in mortgage fraud
2008-04-28 06:20:00
In the following press release James A. Zerhusen, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky announced that three Ohio residents were indicted today for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The indictment alleges that William R. Bowling Jr., 46, of Cincinnati, Georgia Bowling, 64, of Franklin, and Gregg E. Russell, 54, of Middletown devised a complicated scheme to defraud Countrywide Home Loans. The Indictment alleges that William Bowling Jr., the buyer/borrower, purchased 24 investment properties in Kettering, Ohio and that the paperwork submitted to the lender, Countrywide Home Loans, represented that the down-payment was coming from Bowling Jr. The 24 purchases each originated and were processed through Countrywide Home Loan’s office in Ft. Mitchell, Ky. The Indictment also alleges that Georgia Bowling, who acted as the real estate agent for Bowling Jr., caused for false representations regarding alleged repair-work to be made on the loan documents t...
More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Indictments

Tampa man guilty in mortgage fraud case
2008-04-28 05:56:00
In the following press release United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announced that LUIS URIBE, a 28 year old resident of Tampa, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. The maximum penalty URIBE faces is thirty years’ imprisonment and a $1million fine. According to the plea agreement, from July 2006 through September 2007, URIBE committed wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. URIBE was a licensed mortgage broker in Florida and was able to originate mortgage loans. URIBE and others fraudulently submitted mortgage applications under false pretenses, obtaining and disbursing the proceeds of those loans, including directing portions of the proceeds to bank accounts in their control. URIBE was one of the principals behind Bay General Contracting Services, LLC (herein after “Bay General”). Bay General was not a licensed contracting service in the State of Florida. On at least twenty separate real estate closi...
More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Case

DC man pleads guilty - stole customer identities
2008-04-28 05:49:00
In the following press release U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Special Agent-in-Charge Jeffrey Irvine of the U.S. Secret Service, and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced today. The conviction was the result of investigative efforts initiated by the D.C. Metro Area Fraud Task Force, a joint area law enforcement initiative that coordinates fraud investigations by federal authorities, including the U.S. Secret Service, and local law enforcement agencies, including MPD announced that Robert G. Davis, a former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employee and clerk for various mortgage companies, has pled guilty to stealing personal identification information of over 200 persons, fraudulently opening over $150,000 in credit accounts with various retailers in the names of the victims, and ordering merchandise for himself on these accounts, Davis, 44, a resident of Southeast Washington D.C., entered his plea of guilty on Friday, April 4, 2008, to o...
More About: Customer , Guilty , District of Columbia

We're still here
2008-01-17 18:06:00
We are still here but holidays and job change (within TPG) meant no time to upload entries. Will catch up over next 4 days or so.

Former Long Beach Mortgage employee pleads guilty in fraud case
2007-12-18 09:04:00
In the following press release United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today that JOHN NGO, 27, of Dublin, California , pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge William B. Shubb to lying under oath before a federal Grand Jury in connection with an on-going mortgage fraud investigation. The case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Several other individuals have been indicted in connection with this investigation and those charges remain pending. See United States v. Iftikhar Ahmad, et al., 2:07-CR-0386 WBS. According to Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin B. Wagner and Courtney J. Linn, who are prosecuting the case, from approximately September 2001 through May 2006, NGO worked as a Senior Loan Coordinator at Long Beach Mortgage , a subprime lender of residential real property that is now an operational subsidiary of Washington Mutual, F.A. In his cap...
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Auburn (CA) woman arrrested on wire fraud charges
2007-12-18 09:02:00
In the following press United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today that JEAN L. GARCIA, 50, of Auburn , California , was arrested on federal felony charges of wire fraud and money laundering. A criminal complaint was filed and an arrest warrant was obtained yesterday. This case is the product of a joint investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Stegman, who is prosecuting the case, the complaint alleges that the defendant made false statements in a loan application for the purpose of obtaining a loan to refinance the house in which she and Mario Garcia lived, and then engaged in a monetary transaction in these criminally derived funds. If convicted, the maximum penalty for wire fraud is twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, and for money laundering is ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the value of the money ...
More About: Fraud , Woman , Arrests

Tennessee woman pleads guilty in mortgage fraud case
2007-12-12 11:07:00
In the following press release David Kustoff, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced that Gwendolyn House, 46, of Collierville, Tennessee, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Samuel H. Mays to bankruptcy fraud, two counts of wire fraud, money laundering and income tax evasion. House will be sentenced on February 29, 2008. House was named in a superseding indictment filed on October 24, 2006, charged with wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, fraudulent use of a social security number, and identity theft. An Information was filed on November 29, 2007, charging House with one count of income tax evasion. At the plea hearing House admitted to providing false and fictitious statements and information to obtain mortgage loan financing to purchase 523 Tribal Land Cove in Collierville in 2001. The fraudulent items included a false social security number, fictitious employment income, and omitted a bankruptcy declaration. House admitt...
More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Woman

3 arrested in forged deeds sting
2007-12-11 02:36:00
In the following press release it was announced that Investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Unit arrested Kayla Stewart, 47, Lisha Lee, 36, and Valerie Nabors, 26, at the First American Title Office at 303 West Court Street in San Bernardino when they forged the signature of a 72-year-old female victim on a Grant Deed using a fictitious Louisiana driver’s license. The elderly victim resides in Georgia and owns a home on the 1500 block of West Flores Street in San Bernardino that she was trying to sell. When the victim’s son was listing her property for sale, he discovered that her property had been fraudulently transferred to a female subject with no connection to the victim’s family. The forged deed had been filed and recorded at the San Bernardino County Recorder’s Office and the suspects were attempting to refinance the property for $160,000 through First American Title Company in Santa Cruz, ...
More About: Arrested , Sting , Deeds

2nd wave of arrests in Miami-Dade fraud crackdown
2007-12-11 02:25:00
In the following press release Miami -Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez announced that his Mortgage Fraud Task Force is making progress at combating mortgage fraud crime with a second round of arrests.  During the December 5 press conference, Mayor Alvarez also gave updates on the proposal of new mortgage fraud state legislation; new processes for filing complaints and court documents; a real estate industry code of conduct model; and a Mortgage Fraud Speaker’s Bureau. “Today, I am proud to announce that seven new arrests have been made in the crack down of Mortgage Fraud crime that is so prevalent in South Florida,” said Mayor Alvarez. “Our Task Force continues to make great progress in a number of areas to prevent mortgage fraud.” The Mayor presented three cases. The first case was a scheme involving a Rafael Diaz who defrauded the lender by enlisting the help of a straw buyer, loan processor and others for the fraudulent purchase of  a pro...
More About: Arrests , Wave

5 charges in Hennepin County (MN) fraud case
2007-12-11 02:13:00
In the following press release Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the filing of charges in a $4.9 million mortgage fraud case. The fraud amount is the largest in a series of similar cases filed in recent weeks. Charged with theft and racketeering in a 25 count complaint are Universal Mortgage, Inc., Universal President Donald Walthall, and Universal loan officers and agents Marlon Pratt, Rahmeen Underwood, Andre Bellfield and Cleveland Fields. Two of the defendants were taken into custody over the weekend and have been released from custody, however there are outstanding warrants for the remaining three defendants. The complaint identifies 24 homes involved in the scheme, most of which are located in North Minneapolis and have gone into foreclosure. The complaint identifies five straw buyers used by Universal to purchase from 2 to 9 homes each. The complaint alleges Universal Mortgage and its agents falsified the loan applications for its “straw buyers&rdquo...
More About: Fraud , Case

Missouri attorney enters guilty plea to mortgage fraud
2007-11-30 05:30:00
In the following press release John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri , announced that a Kidder, Mo., attorney pleaded guilty in federal court today to defrauding a North Kansas City, Mo., bank in a series of loans totaling $866,810. Dawn Renee Harpster, 38, of Kidder, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., this morning to a federal information that charges her with five counts of bank fraud. Harpster , formerly doing business as Northwest Missouri Title Co., LLC, in Gallatin, Mo., admitted that she defrauded Norbank by obtaining five loans totaling $866,810 between March 2006 and Dec. 26, 2006. For each of those loans, Harpster admitted, she falsely claimed to have contracts with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, under which the LDS Church would purchase Daviess County, Mo., properties from her. If Norbank would loan her the funds to purc...
More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage

Los Angeles foreclosure scam results in court appearances
2007-11-30 02:07:00
John Schwada an Investigative Reporter for Fox 11 News in Los Angeles has kindly sent us the links to 3 recent video news reports he undertook in relation to the activities of James Rojas, the owner of Victory Holdings who is accused of scamming people facing foreclosure and forging signatures to obtain mortgage loans on the victims properties. John (pictured left) is looking for information on other foreclosure scams in the Los Angeles area, please post your information below or email John by clicking here. In the meantime we have reproduced the links to the video reports below. “It’s bad enough to be faced with losing a home in a foreclosure, even worse to be the target of a scam that preys on people faced with such a difficult financial situation. In this FOX 11 Investigation, John Schwada meets a homeowner who says her property was stolen right out from under her.”Click here for the 1st Video News Report“FOX 11 News recently did a story about an alle...
More About: Results , Foreclosure , Appearances , Scam

Four indicted in ID Theft scheme - used deceased womans ID to obtain mortga
2007-11-30 01:02:00
In the following press release Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General Edward J. Ryan and New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner David J. Swarts, today announced that a federal employee has been charged with tampering with government computers to unlawfully create a social security account for an individual in the country illegally as part of a mortgage fraud scheme in which the employee and three other individuals artificially inflated the price of a Queens house by “flipping” the property before stealing the personal identity of a dead Queens woman to fraudulently take out nearly $500,000 in mortgage loans on the property. District Attorney Brown said, “Mort gage fraud and identity fraud are two of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in the country today, costing billions of dolla...
More About: Indictments , Deceased , Theft

Another disbarred NY attorney indicted, accused of stealing escrow frauds
2007-11-30 00:56:00
In the following press release Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that two attorneys have been charged separately with looting their respective escrow accounts and failing to return money they had been holding for clients.District Attorney Brown said, “According to the charges, the defendants not only violated the trust that their clients placed in them but they let down the entire legal system which counts on members of the bar to conduct themselves in an ethical matter. Each of the attorneys has been disbarred, and each now faces serious criminal charges.”District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as Arelia Taveras, 46, presently of Bloomington , Minnesota , and another person in a non Mortgage/Real Estate related matter. Taveras, who is accused of stealing a total of $99,142 from four clients, is charged with three counts of third-degree grand larceny, second-degree forgery, first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and scheme t...
More About: New York , Indictments , Disbarred , Frauds

Another disbarred NY attorney indicted, accued of stealing escrow frauds
2007-11-30 00:56:00
In the following press release Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that two attorneys have been charged separately with looting their respective escrow accounts and failing to return money they had been holding for clients. District Attorney Brown said, “According to the charges, the defendants not only violated the trust that their clients placed in them but they let down the entire legal system which counts on members of the bar to conduct themselves in an ethical matter. Each of the attorneys has been disbarred, and each now faces serious criminal charges.” District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as Arelia Taveras, 46, presently of Bloomington , Minnesota , and another person in a non Mortgage/Real Estate related matter. Taveras, who is accused of stealing a total of $99,142 from four clients, is charged with three counts of third-degree grand larceny, second-degree forgery, first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and ...
More About: New York , Indictments , Disbarred , Frauds

Illinois AG announces more lawsuits in fight against mortgage fraud
2007-11-29 00:13:00
In the following press release Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that she continues to lead the fight against mortgage and home repair fraud today by filing two lawsuits against mortgage brokers who sold complex mortgages to Illinois consumers. (The details of these lawsuits can be found in the two entries below this one). These suits are the first lawsuits filed by the Attorney General’s Office focusing primarily on the origination of mortgage products that have played a major role in the series of events leading to the current subprime mortgage foreclosure crisis. Today’s filings follow a number of lawsuits filed by Madigan targeting the subprime mortgage crisis, including eight suits against mortgage rescue scam artists that prey upon homeowners threatened by foreclosure.  “Like many Illinoisans desperately trying to save their homes, the victims of these two companies have been left with few options,” said Attorney General Madig...
More About: Fraud , Lawsuits , Mortgage Fraud , Fight

Mortgage broker subjuect of law suit from Illinois AG - accused of fraud
2007-11-29 00:05:00
In the following press release Illinois AG Lisa Madigan announced the filing of a suit in Cook County Circuit Court against One Source Mortgage , Inc., and the president of the company, Charles G. Mangold. One Source operated on Chicago’s northwest side. “This company’s conduct is a prime example of the behavior of unscrupulous mortgage brokers that has led to a foreclosure crisis for many Illinois homeowners,” Madigan added. One Source solicited consumers through advertisements in the Chicago Sun-Times and direct mailings that promised mortgages with very low monthly payments. These advertisements did not adequately disclose, however, that the low monthly payments were based on introductory “teaser” interest rates that expired after one month. The interest rate for the mortgage would then adjust every month thereafter. If consumers continued to make the advertised monthly payment, they would not pay any of the principal of the loan or even the f...
More About: Fraud , Broker , Suit

Illinois AG sues mortgage broker and alleges fraud (2 of 2)
2007-11-28 23:09:00
In the second case announced by Illinois AG Lisa Madigan’s second lawsuit involves a number of fraud schemes orchestrated by defendant Dayton D. Vickers Ellis, a/k/a Dale Ellis, president of the following mortgage brokering and home repair businesses also named as defendants in the lawsuit: Advocate Financial Services, Inc., Alpha Construction & Development, Inc., American Heritage Building Consultants, Inc., Apollo Custom Builders, Inc., Illinois Restoration Program, Inc., a/k/a Illinois Lending Institution, Indiana Restoration Program, California Restoration Program, and New York Restoration Program. Ellis’ operation was headquartered on the north side of Chicago. According to Madigan’s complaint, Ellis used three different schemes to defraud homeowners. Ellis’ fraudulent schemes all began with deceptive advertising and took different forms. Ellis sent direct mail solicitations to Illinois consumers describing an alleged government program that offered...
More About: Fraud , Mortgage , Broker , Mort

Disbarred Illinois attorney sentenced in land fraud scheme
2007-11-27 01:47:00
Ray Gibson reports for the Chicago Tribune that Phillip Radmer, a disbarred Berwyn attorney who created phony corporations and invented board members to steal the properties of poor churches, nonprofit groups and businesses, was sentenced on November 20th 2007 to 12 years in prison. “Mr. Radmer has ruined a lot of people’s lives in this case,” Cook County Circuit Judge Stanley Sacks is reported to have said in imposing the sentence for theft and forgery. Representatives of six churches told the judge that the scheme forced them to spend scarce resources to untangle the mess left behind by Radmer over who rightfully owned the properties. In a series of fraudulent real estate deals, Radmer created dozens of phony corporations and individuals in a plot to steal more than 60 vacant lots, a Tribune investigation found last year. He netted at least $655,000 from the sale of four properties owned by the First Presbyterian Church on the city’s South Side. Assistan...
More About: Fraud , Illinois , Attorney , Convictions , Land