Archives For Rachel Dollar

Indictment for Multiple Mortgages on Single Property

Rachel Dollar —  October 1, 2015 — Leave a comment

Denise Bruce, 56, Hingham, Massachusetts was indicted on five counts of bank fraud for defrauding mortgage companies in connection with multiple mortgages she obtained on a single residence

According to the indictment, between 2004 and 2008, Bruce fraudulently obtained five mortgage loans from different banks in amounts ranging from $325,000 to $487,500 on her Hingham, Massachusetts, property by submitting false information regarding her employment history, income, assets, and debt.  The indictment also alleges that Bruce filed fraudulent discharges of mortgages with the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds to create the appearance that earlier loans had been paid in full, when in fact, none of the loans had been paid.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million on each count.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Steven Perez, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region; and Michael Rourke, Special Agent in Charge of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, Special Inspector General, New York Field Office, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

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Sentences in Georgia Real Estate Ponzi Scheme

Rachel Dollar —  September 30, 2015 — Leave a comment

Charles Wooden, 48, Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced to seven years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and to pay restitution of $2.4 million. Hendrickx H. Toussaint, 44, a now disbarred lawyer, Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to three years, ten months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and to pay restitution of $1.2 million.  The sentenced arise out of a real estate-based Ponzi scheme that took in almost $5 million dollars from out-of-state and foreign investors.

According to U.S. Attorney John Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: In or about 2009, Charles Wooden, doing business as Aeon Capital Management, LLC, held himself out to the public as a real estate broker who could locate and oversee the purchase of residential properties and apartment buildings for or on behalf of real estate investors.  Wooden purported to find properties that could be flipped in a short period for a profit, and also properties that he would manage for the investors.  Continue Reading…

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HUD Repurchase Avoidance Scam Alleged by US

Rachel Dollar —  September 29, 2015 — 1 Comment

The United States filed a civil suit against the Rainy Day Foundation, Inc., a purported charitable “counseling fund,” together with its associated business entities and principals.  The case was filed federal court in Central Islip, New York and has been assigned to United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco.

The complaint alleges that in at least 865 instances, the Rainy Day Foundation, together with five Eastern District of New York-based mortgage lenders and their principals, defrauded the United States and various banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), resulting in millions of dollars of mortgage losses, and requiring the United States to pay over $5,605,237 in false claims. Continue Reading…

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20 Year Sentence in Loan Modification Scam

Rachel Dollar —  September 29, 2015 — Leave a comment

Four people who worked at a Rancho Cucamonga business that offered bogus loan modification programs to thousands of financially distressed homeowners were sentenced to federal prison, with one of the leaders of the scheme being ordered to spend 20 years in custody.  Victims of the scheme lost more than $7 million when they paid for services that were never provided.  The telemarketing operation that was known under a series of names, including 21st Century Legal Services, Inc.,  bilked more than 4,000 homeowners across the nation, many of whom lost their homes to foreclosure.

The defendants sentenced were: Continue Reading…

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Straw Buyers and Advance Fee Schemes Net Guilty Plea

Rachel Dollar —  September 29, 2015 — Leave a comment

Tony Huy Havens, 42, Modesto, California, pleaded guilty mail fraud and wire fraud in advance fee and straw buyers mortgage fraud schemes.

According to court documents, in the first scheme Havens devised an “advance fee” scheme that targeted victims in at least eight states who were seeking multimillion dollar loans for large construction projects that were in danger of foreclosure. Havens provided the victims with fraudulent documents that showed a third-party lender was prepared to make a loan to the victim. On Havens’ instructions, the victims wired money into a bank account controlled by Havens to pay in advance certain costs associated with the loans. No loans were ever made. In total, Havens represented that he could arrange at least $1.1 billion in financing for at least 15 victim borrowers and collected at least $248,750 by wire transfers from them. Continue Reading…

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57 Month Sentence in Scheme to Defraud Financial Institutions

Rachel Dollar —  September 28, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ray M. Mubarak, 56, Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison for conducting a scheme to defraud financial institutions and engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction with fraudulently-obtained loan proceeds.  He was also ordered to pay $1,993,938.44 in restitution to three banks and a title insurance company that lost money as a result of the scheme.

Mubarak pleaded guilty in May 2015 to federal charges stemming from his scheme to defraud multiple banks into loaning him over $6 million. He submitted false tax returns and personal financial statements which grossly inflated his income and net worth in order to qualify for the loans. Mubarak also admitted to defrauding the banks by causing them to rely on a fraudulent title opinion letter and forged loan closing documents and deeds.

The trial for Mubarak’s co-defendants, Dianna Mubarak and Blythe Bond Sanders, III, is scheduled for March 1, 2016.

Marbarak was sentenced by the Honorable Pamela L. Reeves, U.S. District Judge.  The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The investigation and prosecution of Mubarak was coordinated with the Office of the District Attorney General, 6th Judicial District.  Matthew T. Morris, Assistant U.S. Attorney, represented the United States.

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Loan Officer Pleads Guilty and Appraiser Identity Theft Charged

Rachel Dollar —  September 25, 2015 — 3 Comments

Franchesco Franco, 34, a former mortgage loan originator, Providence, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit bank fraud for his participation with a local real estate attorney and others in a scheme to defraud Flagstar Bank, by filing a fraudulent mortgage loan application and supporting documentation in the name of a person known to him who had recently died, in order to secure a loan in the amount of $157,102 for the purchase of a residence at 63 Wendell Street, Providence, Rhode Island.

According to court documents, after the mortgage was issued, Franco filed fraudulent documents in the deceased person’s name in order to have his own name added to the deed for the property. Loan payments were never made to Flagstar Bank, an FHA-insured lender, by Franco or anyone else. As a result, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) paid an insurance claim to Flagstar Bank for the unpaid balance of the loan in the amount of $165,062. According to court documents, a corporation formed by the real estate attorney, an alleged co-conspirator in this matter, later purchased the note for $35,000. Continue Reading…

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Eleven Year Sentence for Mortgage Fraud Orchestrator

Rachel Dollar —  September 25, 2015 — Leave a comment

Hector Hernandez, 57, Miami, Florida, the owner and operator of Great Country Mortgage Bankers (Great Country), a mortgage lender in Miami, Florida, was sentenced to serve 135 months in prison  for conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution for orchestrating a $64 million mortgage fraud scheme.  He was also ordered to pay $64,508,141 in restitution and to forfeit $8,000,000 in illicit profits.

In the same case, a real estate developer for Great Country, Aleida Fontao, 62, Miami, Florida, was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison, and ordered to pay $7,131,952 in restitution and $400,000 in forfeiture.  An underwriter for Great Country, Olga Hernandez, 59, Lake Mary, Florida, was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $24,512,755 in restitution.  Hector and Olga Hernandez both pleaded guilty on July 13, 2015, while Fontao pleaded guilty on July 7, 2015.  Hector Hernandez was the last defendant to be sentenced in the case.  All 24 defendants charged in this case, which included loan officers, loan processors and underwriters, were convicted of participating in the scheme. Continue Reading…

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Spiritual Help Through Mortgage Elimination Scheme?

Rachel Dollar —  September 25, 2015 — 1 Comment

John Michael DiChiara, 57, Nevada City, California; James C. Castle, 51, formerly of Santa Rosa, California; Remus A. Kirkpatrick, 58, formerly of Oceanside, California; George B. Larsen, 54, formerly of San Rafael, California; Laura Pezzi, 59, Roseville, California; Larry Todt, 63, formerly of Malibu, California; and Michael Romano, 68, Benicia, California, were charged by a federal grand jury in a 42-count indictment, with conspiracy, bank fraud, false making of documents, and money laundering in connection with a mortgage elimination scheme. Tisha Trites, 49, San Diego, California and Todd Smith, 44, San Diego, California, pleaded guilty to related charges before U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on September 4, 2015.

DiChiara was arrested in Cool, California. Pezzi and Romano were arrested at their homes. The other four defendants listed in the indictment have yet to be arrested. Continue Reading…

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West Virginia Man Sentenced for Inflating Income on Loan Application

Rachel Dollar —  September 25, 2015 — 1 Comment

Steven A. Crites, 44, Martinsburg, West Virginia, was sentenced to one day in prison followed by one year of supervised release for making a false statement on a loan application.

Crites applied for a loan with Wells Fargo Bank and falsely indicated that his monthly income was $29,000. In fact, his monthly income was $2,833.33. He pled guilty in March 21015 to one count of “False Statement on Loan Application.”

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced the sentence.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Camilletti prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the inquiry.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.

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