Illinois
Mortgage Fraud - Illinois
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Another Plea in Illinois Fraud Scheme
Kawa Enters Guilty Plea on Two Charges
Dorothy Kawa, 36, Chicago, Illinois pleaded to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Kawa was the owner of a mortgage brokerage firm - Northwest Fidelity Mortgage Corp., Morton Grove, Illinois. She was indicted, along with 10 other people, in April 2004 in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in lender losses of $9.6M. The scheme, allegedly masterminded by Jan Rozycka and Michael Skatulski, involved the recordation of false mortgage releases to properties. Straw buyers and straw sellers (paid $2,000 for their participation) would appear at …
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Monday, June 20, 2005
Two Plead Guilty In Illinois HUD Fraud
Recent Indictment Nets Two Early Plea Agreements
Two defendants named in a 61 count indictment returned by an Illinois federal grand jury last week have entered guilty pleas. Another two people who were involved in the scheme but not named in the indictment also entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges. The indictments arose out of an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving FHA insured loans that operated in Illinois from January 2000 to October 2003. The indictment alleges the defendants operated a criminal conspiracy making false documents, making false statements and using false identification to obtain federally insured home mortgage loans for unqualified loan applicants. …
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Friday, June 17, 2005
Kakvand Appraiser Sentenced to Two Years
Groh Ordered to Pay Restitution of $11M
Justice William J. Hibbler sentenced Thomas Groh to 24 months in federal prison and 5 years supervised parole. The sentence was handed down on Wednesday, June 1, 2005 in Courtroom 1225 of the U.S. Northern District Court. Groh was the appraiser who pled guilty to one count of mail fraud in the Mohammed (Mike) Kakvand scheme to sell over 150 condominiums in Rogers Park at inflated prices to straw buyers. He was also ordered to pay restitution of over $11,000,000 to the banks who were defrauded in the scheme. He is the only one of …
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Monday, June 13, 2005
Twelve Indicted in Illinois HUD Fraud
Signatories on False Verifications Also Charged
Twelve people were indicted by an Illinois grand jury in connection with a FHA-insured mortgage scheme that involved 48 properties in the Freeport, Illinois area over a period of almost three years. The individuals indicted include not only the ringleaders and recruiters but also individuals who signed false VOEs and credit letters verifying false financial information on behalf of borrowers. The individuals charged in the indictment are as follows: Price Brooks, 50, Freeport, Illinois, worked at Brooks Detail Shop
Todd Ernst, 44, Freeport, Illinois - Owner of Ernst Roofing, Freeport, Illinois …
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Monday, June 06, 2005
Illinois Lawyer Suspended For Three Years
Harmon Submitted False Letter to Obtain Refinance Loan
The Supreme Court of Illinois allowed the petition of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission seeking a three year suspension of Anthony Nickolas Harmon from the practice of law. The petition was filed with the consent of Harmon.
According to the petition, in 2003, while Harmon was serving in the Army in Wisconsin, he forged other Army officers’ signatures on a letter he fabricated to encourage a lender to refinance his mortgage. At the closing of a refinance loan on his home, a question arose regarding Harmons prospects of being re-employed by his …
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Monday, May 23, 2005
Guilty Verdicts in Chicago Flipping Trial
Barren and Bishop Face Fifteen Years
A federal jury returned guilty verdicts on mail fraud and wire fraud charges against Demetrius Barren and Julian Bishop. Each of the men faces up to 15 years in prison. Barren and Bishop were indicted in July 2002 along with Carl Miller and Kenneth Washington, in connection with an alleged property flipping scheme in Chicago, Illinois. Prosecutors alleged that the participants in the scheme duped investors out of millions of dollars. The original indictment alleged a scheme whereby Barren would locate and purchase dilapidated properties in Chicago, Illinois and …
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Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Illinois Appraiser Agrees to Revocation of License
Wiese Enters Into Consent Order with Department
Dennis M. Wiese Jr., Belleville, Illinois, entered into a consent order with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation whereby he agreed to a 10 year revocation of his real estate appraiser license. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation had filed a complaint against Wiese alleging 10 allegedly inaccurate appraisals, performed in 2001 and 2002. The complaint included allegations that Wiese failed to document disrepair in some of the homes which were located in Decatur and Belleville, Illinois.
According to the consent order, Wiese had a four-year business relationship with
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Thursday, May 05, 2005
Chicago Real Estate Story
Click here to watch the NBC-5 Video (Sold Out)
I recently consulted with Phil Rogers of NBC Chicago on an investigative report concerning some activity in the Chicago area. Follow the above link and chose the “Sold Out” story to watch the video feed.  mortgage fraud
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Flip Participants on Trial in Chicago
Two Week Trial Expected for Barren and Bishop
The federal trial of Demetrius Barren and Julian Bishop is proceeding in Chicago and expected to last one to two weeks. Barren and Bishop were indicted in July 2002 along with Carl Miller and Kenneth Washington, in connection with an alleged property flipping scheme in Chicago, Illinois. Witnesses testifying the first day of trial included Kenneth Washington and alleged victim/borrower Renault Robinson Jr. According to an NBC5 story, Robinson, who worked as a school janitor making $28,000 a year, said Barren sold him three buildings for nearly $300,000 in …
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Friday, March 04, 2005
Kemper Employee Indicted for Mortgage Portfolio Theft
Johnson also Subject of Civil Action
Laura Johnson, 47, Crystal Lake, Illinois, was indicted by a Lake County grand jury on charges of stealing $1.5 million from Kemper Insurance Cos., Long Grove, Illinois. Kemper has also filed a civil lawsuit to recover the funds. Johnson was an account manager for Kemper but was laid off in December. Authorities allege that, from 1999 to 2004, Johnson forged documents, took out phony mortgages and transferred money to her bank account while working in Kemper’s mortgage portfolio department. The mortgage accounts were set up for employees who moved to the area.
…
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Proceeds of Home Sale Misappropriated
Landwer Charged with Theft by Deception
Charles Landwer (South Elgin, Illinois), owner of Accurate Financial Group (Bloomingdale, Illinois) was taken into custody on two counts of exploiting an elderly person and two counts of theft by deception. Police had been searching for Landwer for almost two weeks when he walked into a Kane County courtroom and asked for a bond hearing.
According to police and prosecutors, Landwer befriended a elderly man at a Senior Center and convinced him to give Landwer power of attorney to sell his home located in Elgin, Illinois. The home was sold for $170,000 but …
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Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Appraiser in Kakvand Fraud Pleads Guilty
Groh Admits to Inflating Appraisals
Thomas M. Groh, 57, appraiser, Universal Appraisal Service, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, admitting he inflated appraisals in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme to sell run-down apartment buildings in Chicago, Illinois for amounts in excess of their value. Lenders suffered damages of $11M. Sentencing is scheduled for June 1, 2005. Groh has agreed to cooperate with the government.
Grohs codefendants, mortgage broker Mohammad “Mike” Kakvand and Syed Ali Mohammed Razvi, are fugitives. Click here to view the indictment
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Monday, February 28, 2005
Mortgage Fraud and Chicago Foreclosures
Press Release of Foreclosures.com
Foreclosures.com issued a press release suggesting that flipping of properties with inflated appraisals and outright fraud on mortgage lenders was a major factor in the persistently high level of foreclosure activity in the Chicago metro area. The company notes high levels of foreclosure filings in Cook County. mortgage fraud
Friday, February 25, 2005
Chicago Alderman Seeks to Block Development
Company Owned by Wives of Easy Life Principals Seeks Approvals
Alderman Madeline Haithcock has vowed to block a Chicago, Illinois development being proposed Mansion View Development because its principals are the wives of two men who were involved in Easy Life Real Estate System Inc. In 2001, Easy Life paid $1.3M to settle a class action lawsuit concerning the sale of alleged substandard homes to unqualified buyers. Richard Nelson, a principal of Easy life, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining FHA loans in connection with the purchase of those homes by contributing the downpayments. The other principal of Easy Life was …
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Friday, February 11, 2005
Illinois Mortgage Fraud Indictment
Gary D. Harpole Accused of Submitting False Tax Returns and Financials
Gary D. Harpole, 58, Daytona Beach, Florida was charged with making a false statement to The First Bank, Quincy, Illinois. The indictment alleges that Harpole made false statements and willfully overvalued property to influence the bank to refinance a loan in the amount of $228,937 on three properties located in Quincy, Illinois. Harpole allegedly provided the bank with federal income tax returns that reflect income higher than on those filed with the Internal Revenue Service and provided a false financial statement that failed to include various loans. CLICK HERE TO VIEW …
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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. 
