Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Two Plead Guilty in Ongoing Pennsylvania Mortgage Fraud Investigation
Daniel M. Laffey, 49, Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania and Michael D. Altman, 42, Wilkins, Pennsylvania each plead guilty to one count of bank fraud in connection with allegations that they participated in a loan fraud scheme involving approximately a half million dollars in fraudulent mortgages. According to the indictment, Laffey and Altman were...
Guilty Plea in Mortgage Fraud Case Against Former Congressional Candidate
Myers Admits Assisting Taff
John Myers, 49, Leawood, Kansas plead guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with allegations that he assisted co-defendant and former congressional candidate, Adam Taff, fraudulently obtain a mortgage. Myers, the owner of National Mortgage Company, signed a contract to sell his home in Lake Quivira to Taff for $1.2 million. According...
Monday, November 21, 2005
Jury Verdict for SouthStar in Civil Lawsuit Against Appraiser
SouthStar Funding, LLC obtained a $150,000 jury verdict against Oyedele S. Oyewole, a Georgia appraiser on November 16, 2005. According to the underlying complaint filed in the action, SouthStar relied on appraisals of Oyewole in funding two loans in July 2003: One for borrower Olanrewaj Tejuoso for property located at 27 Joseph E. Lowery...
Friday, November 18, 2005
Massachusetts Deed Scam Nets Guilty Plea
Hasan Hussain, 44, Westboro, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and witness tampering in connection with his role in a deed scam. According to the indictment, Hussain participated in a scheme where they identified properties whose owners had died and/or that were subject to tax delinquencies. They then located straw buyers...
Two New York Attorneys Charged in Unrelated Cases
Michael Larry Goldman, 51, attorney, East Rockaway, New York was charged with grand larceny. Goldman was a partner in Goldman and Rio, Manhattan. According to authorities, in early 2004, Goldman represented the sellers of a house in Glen Cove, Long Island. The prospective buyer successfully bid on the house and gave Goldman a check for $43,000...
Mortgage Company Employee Accused of Approving his Own Mortgage
Lederman Forged Co-Worker’s Signature
Neil Lederman, 50, Centreville, Virginia was charged with two counts of forgery in connection with allegations that he forged the signature of a co-worker on Lederman’s own mortgage approval. According to media reports, statements by an officer in an affidavit in support of the warrant to search Lederman’s townhouse claimed: In September 2004, ...
Thursday, November 17, 2005
One Guilty Verdict and One Acquittal in Ohio Mortgage Fraud Trial
Indictment Alleges Defendant Submitted False Documents to Lenders
The owner of a Fremont, Ohio mortgage company was convicted by a jury on all charges in a pending federal mortgage fraud trial where is alleged that clients were coaxed to lie to lenders in order to obtain mortgages. Roberta Littelmann, owner of Firelands Mortgage Inc., 1204 W. State St., Fremont, Ohio was convicted of seven counts of wire...
Colorado Shuts Down Sham Title Insurance Agencies
Agencies Created as Vehicles to Provide Kick-Backs to Brokers
The Colorado Division of Insurance closed down 11 ?sham? title insurance agencies this week. The Division asserted that the agencies were created as vehicles to provide kickbacks to mortgage brokers. In addition, the Division suspended the license of the title agent identified as the companies? responsible producer. According to the Division, ...
California Woman Arrested in use of Stolen Identities
Ondeya Marks Redeemer was arrested in Corona, California in connection with allegations that her company and its employees were not properly licensed and that she used 5 stolen identities to purchase or re-finance 4 properties. The estimated loss exceeds $2.5 million. On October 4, 2005, members of the Corona Police Department Investigations...
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Four Indicted in $2 Million Dallas Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Four men were indicted in Dallas, Texas in connection with an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving approximately $2 million in fraudulent loans. The indictment, handed down by a grand jury in the Northern District of Texas, charges seven counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud against the following individuals: Charles...
Myrtle Beach Sees Increasing Tide of Mortgage Fraud
The Sun News of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has been running a series on mortgage fraud in their area. The initial stories appeared October 23 with follow-ups on November 13. Further stories are expected. So far, the following stories have been featured: Bank-account boosts help secure mortgages, by David Wren, The Sun News - November 13,...
Monday, November 14, 2005
Hawaii Man Sentenced to Six Years in Texas Mortgage Fraud
George Eric Cardona, Hawaii, was sentenced to seventy five months in prison and ordered to pay $1,012,386.58 in restitution in connection with his role in a Texas mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in over $1 million in losses to 50 victims. Cardona pleaded guilty in January to one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. He...
California Man Pleads Guilty in Identity Theft
Maldonado Vidal Martiniano (a.k.a. Vidal Maldonado), ,66, Oxnard, California pleaded guilty to identity theft, grand theft and forgery. Maldonado admitted to purchasing a $350,000 house in Oxnard, California with his son-in-law, Angel Velasco, 30, in May 2003 using the stolen identity of another person.
Jury Convicts Defendants in Texas Mortgage Fraud
A federal jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted defendants Tam Nguyen, Xuyen Nguyen, and Myna Tran on all counts charged in a mortgage fraud indictment following a two-week jury trial. The scheme operated in the Dallas, Texas area. The jury convicted Tam Nguyen on one count of conspiracy, 12 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail...
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Former Title Company VP Pleads Guilty
Thomas Kurzenberger Jr., 37, Ballwin, Missouri, the former vice-president of Title Insurers Agency, Inc., 226 South Meramec Avenue, Suite 200, Clayton, Missouri, was charged by information and pled guilty to one count of mail fraud in connection with allegations that he diverted almost $2.8 million from title company escrow accounts. According...
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Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog, is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors. She is an author and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is a shareholder with the law firm of 
