Brenda Ann Blair, 37, loan officer, Bonita Springs, Florida, formerly of Goochland County, Virginia, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for participating in a fraud scheme that obtained approximately $2.4 million worth of mortgage backed loans from federally backed financial institutions. Continue Reading…
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Xue Heu, 38, Modesto, California, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,166,366 in restitution, for investment fraud schemes in Fresno, California and Texas. Continue Reading…
The trial for a woman who was allegedly involved in a $3 million real estate scheme is on hold after the judge halted proceedings for the day Monday.
Jennifer Ann McTigue is accused of defrauding new homeowners, title companies and banks in a complex investment scheme.
Joseph Brogan, St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 14 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $350,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to multiple fraud charges related to a scheme involving applications for home loans.
According to court documents, Brogan was employed as a loan officer for USA Mortgage, Inc. where he handled both conventional mortgages and FHA loans. Michael Wallis owned and operated a company known as Missouri Builders and Home Remodeling (Missouri Builders), which performed interior construction and remodeling work on houses. Continue Reading…
Jerome Whittington, 65, La Quinta, California; Patricia Torres Zavala, 42, Benicia, California; and, Kathleen Moore, 68, Olympia, Washington have been charged by a federal grand jury for their roles in a variety of fraudulent schemes, including one involving short sales, that victimized at least 20 investors and caused losses of more than $2 million.
The three defendants were charged in a superseding indictment filed on July 8, 2015. The 24-count indictment alleges that they lied to investors in a series of schemes, and then used investor money for personal expenses rather than investing the funds as promised.
Whittington is also charged in a separate case with posing as a former federal prosecutor in a case involving a former DEA agent. Continue Reading…
Tamara Tikal, 45, Rio Vista, California was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for her conviction for conspiring to commit mail fraud in relation to a foreclosure rescue scheme. Tamara Tikal was also ordered to pay $3,671,000 in restitution to victims of the offense by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley.
Tamara Tikal’s husband Alan Tikal was convicted following a bench trial and sentenced to 24 years in prison. Tamara Tikal pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in August 2014, as did co-defendant Ray Kornfeld, who was sentenced to five years in prison. Continue Reading…
If you are involved in fraud detection and prevention in the mortgage industry or have attended an event where I have spoken over the past few years, you are no doubt aware that the Sovereign Citizen movement has been targeting the mortgage industry. The one most prominent in my mind is, of course, the Dorean Group. Its ringleaders, Scott Heineman and Kurt Johnson were a were a frequent topic on the blog during 2005 and through their trial, sentencings and appeals. Although Sovereign Citizens at times become engaged in mortgage fraud because of certain beliefs concerning the history of our currency and a misreading of the law, their impact and involvement in the mortgage industry is tangential to their ideology – which is grounded in conspiracy theory. In 2013, I wrote an article entitled Fraud From the Fringe – the Sovereign Citizen Movement and the Rise of Mortgage Elimination Schemes, published in Mortgage Banking Magazine, that provides more explanation. The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League also have resources on Sovereign Citizen ideology.
I am always interested in news on Sovereign Citizen activity and prosecutions – even when not related to mortgage. Some of the conduct they engage in can be incredibly harassing to the people they target – be it a private citizen or a government figure. The everyday engagements that give rise to retaliation can be very minor in the eyes of the non-Sovereign Citizen and yet the backlash can be astounding – the worst, of course, being examples of public safety officers gunned down during traffic stops. But, ordinary, every day social or business interactions can also result in economic threats or the filing and recording of legal documents that can be difficult to appropriately address. Continue Reading…
George Dravilas, real estate broker, 37, Medinah, Illinois, was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme involving a pair of Chicago apartment buildings. Dravilas pled guilty in February to one count of bank fraud. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman ordered Dravilas to pay $463,110 in restitution. Dravilas will begin serving his sentence no later than Sept. 21, 2015. Continue Reading…
Hector Hernandez, real estate developer and owner of a mortgage company, 57, Miami, Florida; Aleida Fontao, co-owner of a mortgage company, 62, Miami, Florida; and Olga Hernandez, senior mortgage underwriter, 58, Lake Mary, Florida, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution in connection with an FHA mortgage fraud scheme involving federally insured mortgages that caused losses of $64 million to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Including these defendants, 25 individuals have pleaded guilty to offenses related to this scheme to date.. Hector and Olga Hernandez both pleaded guilty on July 13, 2015, while Fontao pleaded guilty on July 7, 2015. As part of his plea, Hector Hernandez also agreed to forfeit $8 million, which amounts to his profits from the scheme.
Hector Hernandez’s mortgage company, Great Country Mortgage Bankers, specialized in mortgage loans that were insured by the FHA. Continue Reading…