Chiedu “George” Chukwuka , 47, Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced to serve nine years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,868,243.80 in connection with his lead role in a mortgage fraud ring that spanned five years and caused millions in losses. Chukwuka, along with his co-defendants and other co-conspirators, engaged in a massive property-flipping scheme resulting in over $5.8 million in actual losses to financial institutions between 2006 and 2011. Chukwuka pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on August 10, 2015.
“At the height of the recent mortgage-fraud crisis, this property-flipping scheme caused scores of homes to fall into foreclosure, costing financial institutions millions of dollars in losses,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Many communities in our district have been decimated by mortgage fraud during the last 15 years and even now struggle to recover from the effects of these schemes.”
According to U.S.A. Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Chukwuka, along with his co-defendants and co-conspirators, recruited straw buyers to purchase homes at a discounted price, typically a bank-owned or distressed property. The group then recruited a second straw buyer to purchase the same home at a dramatically inflated price. In turn, Chukwuka, his co-defendants and co-conspirators applied for an acquisition loan for the second straw buyer, supporting the loan application with false income, fake employment, and fraudulent net worth data.
The group profited from their scheme by pocketing the acquisition loan proceeds paid by the victim bank to the straw seller (who was the straw purchaser in the first transaction). The amount of profit was the difference between the price paid by the straw purchaser in the first transaction and the price paid by the straw purchaser in the second transaction, less transaction costs. Since none of the straw purchasers made any significant loan payments, the targeted properties usually went into foreclosure, resulting in over $5.8 million in actual losses to financial institutions between 2006 and 2011.
“The sentencing of Mr. Chukwuka brings to a close a lengthy investigation and prosecution of a criminal enterprise that targeted the banking industry through their prolific mortgage fraud schemes. Mr. Chukwuka, considered by law enforcement and prosecution to be head of this enterprise, caused extensive damage with high loss amounts to those victim banks involved. The FBI is pleased with the role it played in bringing about this sentencing to federal prison of Mr. Chukwuka as well as the previous sentencings of his co-defendants in this matter,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
The following five defendants also pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme, and were previously sentenced as follows:
- Shelly Gee, a/k/a Shelly Baker, 48, Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on November 10, 2015, to one year, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,243,909.99. Gee pled guilty on June 17, 2015.
- Sandra Petgrave, 43, Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced on December 4, 2015, to one year, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,051,970.77. Petgrave pled guilty on August 18, 2015.
- Kennedy Simmonds, 54, Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced on December 17, 2015, to three years, ten months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,868,243.80. Simmonds pled guilty on July 6, 2015.
- Marcelle Welch, 37, Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced on December 17, 2015, to two years, three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,554,189.25. Welch pled guilty on July 29, 2015.
- Leah Freeman, 43, Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on December 17, 2015, to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,828.532.94. Freeman pled guilty on June 19, 2015.
The defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr.
In a related case, Chinedum Oli, 42, Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced on February 19, 2013, by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Marvin H. Shoob to five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,373,281.63. Oli pled guilty on October 9, 2012.
The cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jamie L. Mickelson and Steven D. Grimberg prosecuted the cases.
@Egon – In the U.S., financial institutions cannot refuse to lend to impose additional scrutiny based on the derivation of names. This would violate fair lending regulations.
@William – “Flipping” is certainly a significant type of fraud and causes serious loss when done fraudulently. But, flipping is not always fraudulent. The term includes any purchase and sale that happens within an abbreviated time period and does not just refer to concurrent purchase and sale. So, flipping often involves the purchase, renovation and resale of a property. The ‘fraudulent’ part of flipping is generally the overvaluation of the property in the second sale. Ten year owner occupancy requirements would definitely stop flipping – but people often sell sooner for valid reasons (such as relocation and divorce, etc.)
Derivation of the names of the perpetrators indicate Nigerian descent. Nigeria is well known as the origin for many infamous financial fraud schemes. “There’s your sign” folks. Either the banks were complicit or incompetent.
“Flipping” means Fraud. It would be a rare event where someone buys a property and immediately doubles their money without fraud. “Flipping” is the reason few ordinary Americans can afford a home without becoming lifetime mortgage slaves. If all mortgages required owner occupancy for a minimum of 10 years or the property would revert to the government (not the bank), property values would drop to where they should be.