Rachel Dollar is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles fraud recovery litigation for lenders and secondary market investors nationwide. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. Email Ms. Dollar

Mortgage Fraud Blog is co-sponsored by Interthinx the leading provider of fraud services and solutions for the mortgage industry.

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Close Door on Real Estate Fraud

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Recent Posts

- Mortgage Fraud Scheme Leads to Prison Term for Houston Man
- Loan Officer Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Mortgage Fraud
- Phoenix Mortgage Broker Who Defrauded Seniors Gets Prison Term
- Jeffrey Miller Trial Begins in Topeka, Kansas
- Man Sentenced To 22 Years For Defrauding Church, Among Others
- 2 Indicted In Major Mortgage Fraud Scheme
- Mortgage Broker Sentenced to 12 Months Home Confinement
- 2 Guilty Convictions In NY Foreclosure Rescue Scam
- Guilty Plea In Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud And Telemarketing Schemes
- Fairfax Man Pleads Guilty in $33 Million Mortgage Fraud Case

Missouri

Mortgage Fraud - Missouri

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Probation Sentences For Two in $6M Missouri Mortgage Fraud

Nathan J. Brinkle, 30, Kansas City, Missouri and Jonathan T. Jennings, 34, Lees Summit, Missouri were sentenced this morning to three years of probation, including six months house arrest for their roles in a scheme to defraud home buyers and mortgage lenders of more than $6 million. The court also ordered Brinkle and Jennings to pay approximately $2.4 million in restitution, which was the amount of actual loss by the mortgage lenders.

On June 2, 2005, Brinkle and Jennings, along with co-defendant Adam T. Kerr, Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty to …

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Thursday, April 06, 2006

Mother and Son Indicted in Missouri Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Eric Kendall Taylor, 35, Lee’s Summit , Missouri and his mother, Doris Taylor, 58, Kansas City, Missouri, were indicted in connection with an alleged mortgage scheme that resulted in 23 fraudulent loans totaling more that $5M.  The scheme allegedly operated in Kansas City and Lees Summit, Missouri from the summer of 1999 through September 23, 2005.  The 20 count grand jury indictment includes charges of conspiracy, scheme to defraud and fraud. 

According to the indictment, Eric Taylor was in the business of investing in real estate in the Kansas City and …

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Friday, March 31, 2006

Phoenix Title Owner Sentenced to Five Years

James Andrew Thurman, St. Charles, Missouri, former owner of Phoenix Title and James Andrew GMAC Real Estate (JAGMAC) was sentenced by a Missouri federal court to 63 months in prison and was ordered to pay over $2 million to the victims of a $2 million mortgage fraud scheme.

Thurman pled guilty to one felony count of wire fraud in August 2005.

At the sentencing, ten victims explained to United States District Judge Catherine D. Perry the devastation Thurmans fraud caused in their lives.

The testimony of these victims was heart …

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Thursday, March 30, 2006

First Sentences in $20 Million Missouri Mortgage Fraud

A former mortgage broker and a former real estate appraiser were sentenced in Missouri federal court in separate but related cases involving a property flipping scheme and mortgage fraud. Their fraud was part of a larger scheme that involved nearly 300 fraudulent loans worth almost $20 million.

Avonda Nicodemus, 33, Kansas City, Missouri, a former account executive at Ameriquest Mortgage in Gladstone, Missouri was sentenced to five years of probation, including four months of electronic monitoring, and ordered to pay $1,158,501 in restitution. Under the terms of probation, Nicodemus may not work as a loan broker …

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Friday, March 10, 2006

Phoenix Title Owner Sentenced

James A. Thurman, St. Charles, Missouri, the owner of Phoenix Title Company, St. Charles, Missouri, was sentenced to 63 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution in connection with charges that he defrauded Phoenix Title Company of $1.6 million by taking money from customers escrow deposits. Thurman pleaded guilty to wire fraud in August of last year.

Phoenix Title was closed down in April, 2005 and was placed in receivership after Fidelity National Title Insurance of Florida attempted to inspect its records due to rumors of missing …

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Thursday, February 23, 2006

Barber Pleads Guilty to Two Remaining Indictments

Brent Michael Barber, 41, Missouri, plead guilty to 104 federal felony counts levied in two separate mortgage fraud cases.  In total, he plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy, ninety eight counts of interstate transportation of funds obtained by fraud and four counts of money laundering. In total, the charges involved approximately 300 loans totaling $20,000,000.  Last year, Barber was tried under a separate third indictment and convicted.  This plea agreement avoids the need for additional trials.

By way of the guilty plea, Barber admitted, among other things that:



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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

First Magnus files Civil Lawsuit Alleging Kansas City, Missouri Mortgage Fraud Scheme

First Magnus Financial Corporation (FMFC) filed a civil lawsuit in the Federal Court for the Western District of Missouri, Kansas City Division, against the following defendants whose roles, as indicated in the complaint, are also included:

Summit Mortgage, L.L.C, mortgage broker
Joe Richardson, principal/alter ego, member, employee and/or agent of Summit
Dwayne Maddy, principal, employee and/or agent of Summit
Frank Strauss, principal, employee and/or agent of Summit
Rob Adrian, principal, employee and/or agent of Summit
David …

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Thursday, January 26, 2006

Former Title Company Exec Sentenced in Escrow Diversion

Kurzenberger receives six year sentence for theft of escrow funds

Thomas Kurzenberger Jr., 37, Ballwin, Missouri, was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $5.7 million after pleading guilty to mail fraud in connection with his diversion of funds from title company escrow accounts.  Kurzenberger is the former vice president of Title Insurance Agency, a suburban St. Louis, Missouri title insurance agency.  He was charged by indictment and pleaded guilty to mail fraud in November.  According to court documents, losses claimed by escrow victims totaled $5,731,535.90.

Kurzenberger used customers’ escrow deposits to support his drug habit and spent …

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Last Defendant Sentenced in Lee’s Summit, Missouri Mortgage Fraud

Carl Long, 56, Oak Grove, Missouri was sentenced to three years in federal prison with parole and ordered to pay $79,500 in restitution.  On April 21, 2005, Carl Long pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with part of a mortgage fraud scheme among three co-defendants that involved a total of 120 loans valued at nearly $18 million.

Carl Long was engaged in the mortgage lending business with his son and co-defendant Anthony Edward Long, 35, Blue Springs, Missouri, through Community HomeBanc and
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Monday, December 05, 2005

Missouri Real Estate Entrepreneur Convicted

Barber Guilty of Conspiracy

A Missouri real estate entrepreneur was convicted by a federal trial jury for orchestrating a property flipping scheme and mortgage fraud conspiracy.

Brent Michael Barber, 41, of Belton, Missouri, was found guilty for his role in a conspiracy to defraud two mortgage lending companies of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Brent Barber manipulated people, took advantage of those who were vulnerable, and used deceit to enrich himself at the expense of others, said Todd P. Graves, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. He forged documents and lied on loan applications in an …

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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 to court records, between January 2000 and June 28, 2005, Kurzenberger withdrew approximately $2,768,882.04 from the main escrow or construction escrow accounts maintained by Title Insurance Agency.  He spent approximately $1,251,045.41 to pay for personal expenses and the used the …

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Friday, November 04, 2005

Two Men Sentenced in Lee’s Summit, Missouri Mortgage Fraud

Two men were sentenced in connection with a Lees Summit, Missouri mortgage fraud scheme alleged to have involved approximately $18M in fraudulent loans.

Anthony Long was sentenced to 2 years in prison, to run consecutively with the sentenced imposed in the companion case, following by 3 years supervised release and was ordered to pay $1,388,126.81 in restitution.  Long plead guilty to wire fraud and engaging in monetary transactions on April 22, 2005.

Mitchell James Medlin was sentenced to 5 years probation and ordered to pay. $1,388,126.81 in restitution.  Medlin plead guilty …

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Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Two Missouri Men Sentenced in $18M Mortgage Fraud

Anthony Edward Long, 35, Blue Springs, Missouri and Mitchell David Medlin, 43, Lees Summit, Missouri were sentenced in separate hearings for wire fraud and money laundering after pleading guilty in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. 

Long, who pleaded guilty to charges contained in two separate indictments, was sentenced to three years and three months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Long to pay $1,388,126 in restitution. Medlin was sentenced to five years of probation, including six months in a halfway house and six months of home detention. The court …

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Monday, August 29, 2005

Owner of Phoenix Title Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

Thurman Admits to Theft of $3.4 Million from Escrow Accounts

James A. Thurman, 41, St. Charles, Missouri, the owner of Phoenix Title Company, St. Charles, Missouri, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with allegations that he defrauded the company of $1.6 million by taking money from customers’ escrow deposits.

Phoenix Title was closed down in April, 2005 and was placed in receivership after Fidelity National Title Insurance of Florida attempted to inspect its records due to rumors of missing escrow funds. 

In his guilty plea, Thurman admitted that between March 2002 and December 2004 he took $3.4 million from real estate …

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Monday, August 15, 2005

Missouri Woman Sentenced in Connection with $2M Mortgage Fraud

Guilty Plea to Tax Evasion Results in 18 Month Sentence

Kimberly Williams, 46, Town & Country, Missouri, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison for tax evasion in connection with her role in a $2 million mortgage fraud scheme. On May 18, 2005 Williams plead guilty to one felony count of income tax evasion. As part of her plea, Williams agreed to pay the proceeds from the sale of her residence to the United States to pay back taxes and restitution.

According to the facts stated in court at the time of the plea, from June, 1999 to December, 2000, Williams participated in …

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TRIAL COVERAGE

Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.

 

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Synopsis of Day 2, Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Seating the Jury: The jury selection process was the order of business in day 2 of the USA v. Miller, et al. Court began at 1:00 p.m. The jurors had filled out a questionaire the previous day. The 56 person pool was narrowed to 42 people whose names were called by the court clerk. Of the initial 42 potential jurors, 27 are women, 15 are men. The remaining 14 sat in the observation area with me. The side of the courtroom is divided by an aisle. The Government is to the left of the aisle, along with the jury box. The defendants are on the right side of the aisle. The choice of which side to sit on can be assumed as 'support' of one side or the other. When the jury pool returned from a break, they all filled the left side of the observation area (where I sat) and almost begrudgingly filled the right side. For the better part of the afternoon, Judge Julie Robinson questioned the jurors about whether they had served on a jury before (including any civil matters against banks. Interestingly, this was the only question in which none of the potential jurors raised their hand), their prior criminal or civil history, among other things. Many of the jurors had previous jury experience. None had been forepersons on those juries. On a few occasions, Judge Robinson excused a juror due to answers given, such as financial hardship over the course of the trial from loss of income. One juror explained that he had a close relationship with Court prosecutors due to his sitting through a murder trial of his nephew. He was unsure whether he could be impartial. When the judge would excuse a juror, the clerk would then call the next name of the 14 remaining jury pool members. The 42 were then given a sheet and asked to stand and tell the Court about their education, job, marital and family status, hobbies, favorite TV shows, military history, and what clubs they belonged to. This took the longest part of the day as some of the members spoke at length. Mr. Vanatta remains in custody. He enters and leaves the courtroom with law enforcement officers. The two officers sit 3 feet away from Vanatta during the court proceedings. Mr. Vanatta clearly struggles to keep up with reviewing jury questionaires unlike the other defendants who are free pending the outcome of this trial. Hallie Irvin sits across from Mr. Vanatta. They continue to chat and exchange notes throughout the day. Samantha Harris has no conversation with her tablemate, F. Jeffrey Miller. Harris's attorney sits between the two. I am unsure whether the jurors have yet to identify Miller. He is better dressed than his lawyers and appears to be an attorney. There is a jury consultant in the court room. Aside from myself, he was the only non-jury pool member in the observation area of the courtroom. One of Miller's attorneys', Mr. Bradshaw, appears to be bothered by my presence in the courtroom. On Monday, he approached me in the courtroom. I told him I was simply there to observe the trial. On Tuesday, at one point Mr. Bradshaw 'squared his chair' towards me. Court is not in session today, Wednesday, November 19th. On Thursday, court will reconvene at 9 am. The attorneys will be allowed to ask further questions of the 42. In case of conflict, the remaining 14 are required to return to court as well. Then, the jury members will be selected. The opening statements are much anticipated. Judge Robinson says they will begin mid-morning on Thursday. -article by field reporter, Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty

More Trial Coverage

Today's News

Some Sources require Registration.

 

Suthers Cracks Down On Mortgage Fraud
Rocky Mountain News - Denver, CO
Suther’s office also indicted 10 individuals last March in an $11 million mortgage fraud ring involving 34 local properties...Several other investigations of mortgage fraud are ongoing.

Tech Roundup: Interthinx Tackles Conflict-of-Interest Fraud
HousingWire.com
Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Interthinx, Inc., a provider of risk mitigation and regulatory compliance tools, announced last week the addition of 21 new conflict-of-interest alerts within its FraudGUARD scoring system that identify possible collusion between loan participants.

Sex, Lies, and Subprime Mortgages
BusinessWeek
The sexual favors, whistleblower intimidation, and routine fraud behind the fiasco that has triggered the global financial crisis

More Residents Worry About Mortgage Fraud
Killeen Daily Herald - Killeen, TX
Special Agent Matthew Gravelle is an experienced fraud investigator in the Austin office of the FBI's San Antonio Division. During the last five years, mortgage fraud cases have piled up because of the collapsing mortgage market.

Anti-Mortgage Fraud Law Jams Up Realtors
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
The situation mainly affects short sales, where the asking price is lower than what the homeowner owes on the mortgage. If the homeowner is 60 days delinquent on payments, the home may be considered a “distressed property” under the state Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act that took effect July 1.

Hearing Delayed for 2 Mortgage Brokers Accused of Fraud
Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas, NV
The preliminary hearing for two Henderson residents accused of mortgage fraud has been pushed back to March because of the defense attorney's involvement in the O.J. Simpson trial in October.

Foreclosure Fallout: Avoid Mortgage Scams, Fraudulent Schemes
KOLD-TV - Tucson, AZ
Thousands of people in Pima County are facing foreclosure...The U.S. Justice Department is cracking down on mortgage scams. So far this year, more than 400 people have been charged with fraud and other mortgage related crimes.

Task Force Will Fight Mortgage Fraud
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - MO
The U.S. attorney's office in St. Louis announced Wednesday that it was forming a task force to combat mortgage fraud. The effort is intended to "cast a broader net so that we can catch more of these criminals and put them behind bars," U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said in a prepared statement.

Interthinx(R) Identifies Potential Collusion in Mortgage Applications
MarketWatch - USA
Interthinx(R) announces the addition of 21 new conflict-of-interest alerts within its proven FraudGUARD(R) scoring system that identify possible collusion between loan participants. The technology advancement will help lenders identify "non-arms length" mortgage transactions -- a serious indicator of potential mortgage fraud.

Viewpoint: Foreclosure Moratoriums, and Interpreting the Truth
Housing Wire - USA
If you read the headlines, you’d think Citigroup is putting a moratorium on most foreclosures nationwide...There’s just one problem: that’s not what Citigroup really said.