Archives For Rachel Dollar

Sting Operation in Kickback Extortion Plot

Rachel Dollar —  July 23, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ricardo Martinez, Coral Gables, Florida was arrested and charged with multiple felony counts which included a scheme to defraud, mortgage fraud, and unlawful promises to provide insider-information.  He is accused of kickback extortion.

Martinez was employed in South Florida as an asset manager for a large financial holdings corporation. Investigators from the FBI and Okaloosa County Sherriff’s Office learned that Martinez tried to extort a local business person to send money in the form of “kickbacks” to Martinez personally from the sale of the corporation’s real estate properties in Okaloosa County, Florida.

During an undercover “sting” operation, Investigators sent funds requested by Martinez to his private address in South Florida.  Martinez accepted the funds personally and he made efforts to conceal the money from all official real estate closing documents. Further, Martinez promised to provide other financial benefits to a local individual in exchange for the same “kick-back” agreement in the future.

The joint effort was successful due to ongoing partnerships between local and Federal authorities targeting fraudulent acts affecting the citizens of Okaloosa County.

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

Robert Walker Sentenced to 33 Months for Modification Fraud

Rachel Dollar —  July 23, 2015 — Leave a comment

Robert Walker, 44, North Royalton, Ohio, was sentenced to 33 months in prison.  He previously pleading guilty to five counts of fraud.  Walker operated of a loan modification fraud scheme and defrauded over 90 struggling homeowners out of $286,000.

According to court documents, Walker convinced homeowners on the verge of foreclosure to pay Walker an up-front fee of at least $1,995.  Walker did little or no work to get a loan modification for customers. He promised that 80 percent of the fee would be reimbursed if he didn’t get them a modification. But Walker never intended to reimburse the fees.  When he failed to obtain a loan modification, he refused the promised reimbursement. Continue Reading…

In Mortgage Fraud
 permalink
 Posted by Rachel Dollar  onJuly 22, 2015 In Mortgage Fraud
 permalink Leave a comment

Danville man to be sentenced on conspiracy charges

A Danville businessman who had worked to renovate dilapidated Antioch buildings pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office, court records show.

Anthony Keslinke, 47, was arrested in February 2014 and ultimately charged with 12 counts of fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy, all stemming from a period between February 2011 and March 2014, during which time prosecutors say Keslinke falsified documents to “short sell” his own East Bay properties at a profit, and accepted a total of $550,000 from an undercover federal agent posing as a drug dealer, court records show.

 Posted by Rachel Dollar  onJuly 22, 2015 In Mortgage Fraud on the web
 permalink Leave a comment

Sex, Lies And Real Estate – Operation Wax House Comes To A Close

… The Wax House investigation began in 2007 and became one of the largest in the country, involving over $100 million in mortgage loans.  Once investigators started looking at bank documents (nearly 1,000,000 pages were eventually part of the evidence in multiple cases) and talking to people, they did not find a structured criminal enterprise but instead a connected web of fraud among numerous disinterested parties.

 Posted by Rachel Dollar  onJuly 22, 2015 In Mortgage Fraud on the web
 permalink Leave a comment

Illinois Business Owner and Son Plead Guilty in Commercial Fraud

Rachel Dollar —  July 22, 2015 — Leave a comment

Bruce Swisshelm, 68, Battlefield, Missouri, and his son, Bruce Swisshelm II, 43, Springfield, Missouri pleaded guilty in two separate but related cases, to their roles in a more than $5.5 million bank fraud scheme.  Swisshelm pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering. Swisshelm II pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony. Continue Reading…

In Mortgage Fraud ,
 permalink

Massachusetts Mortgage Broker Convicted of Bank Fraud

Rachel Dollar —  July 22, 2015 — Leave a comment

Michael P. O’Donnell, 53, mortgage broker, Middleton, Massachusetts was convicted of one count of bank fraud after a three-day bench trial before the Honorable Douglas P. Woodlock, United States District Judge.  Judge Woodlock scheduled sentencing for October 20, 2015. Continue Reading…

In Mortgage Fraud , , ,
 permalink

Former Eagle Fryar’s fraud trial begins

Former Eagles wide receiver Irving Fryar and his mother went on trial Tuesday on charges they conspired to defraud six banks in South Jersey and Philadelphia as part of a $1 million mortgage scheme.

If they are convicted of the conspiracy and theft-by-deception charges lodged against them, they could face five to 10 years in prison and up to $150,000 in fines, according to the state attorney general, whose office is handling the contentious case in Mount Holly.

 Posted by Rachel Dollar  onJuly 22, 2015 In Mortgage Fraud on the web ,
 permalink Leave a comment

I apologize to the United States and to all of my family

Julio Cesar Concepcion, prior to being sentenced to 7 years in federal prison and ordered to pay over $5 Million in restitution

 Posted by Rachel Dollar  onJuly 22, 2015 In Mortgage Fraud
 permalink Leave a comment

Brothers get prison in Long Beach real estate scheme

Two brothers who worked as mortgage loan officers were sentenced today to 2 1/2 years in prison for taking part in a scheme to scam banks and lending companies by falsely inflating the prices of over a dozen waterfront condominiums in Long Beach.

Isaac and Israel Soussana were also ordered by U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez to pay restitution of about $4.8 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 Posted by Rachel Dollar  onJuly 22, 2015 In Mortgage Fraud on the web
 permalink Leave a comment