Mortgage Fraud Blog is the premier website for news and information on mortgage fraud and real estate fraud throughout the United States.
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 Smith Dollar, PC, 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.
Benjamin Serrano, 47, formerly of Parker, Colorado, the former director of sales for a Colorado real estate company that built luxury homes throughout the state agreed in court papers to plead guilty to a federal conspiracy charge, admitting that he and other company officials participated in a $16 million "builder bailout" scheme in which...
Former Las Vegas Resident Charged in Straw Buyer Scheme
Brian K. Jackson, 38, Anaheim, California, was indicted by the Federal Grand Jury in Las Vegas on October 21, 2009, and charged with Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, Mail Fraud, and Wire Fraud. Jackson was arrested in the Los Angeles area, and appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge there and was released on a $50,000 surety bond. Jackson is...
Action Taken Against Crooked Lawyers for Various Scams
The State Bar of California has taken action against 5 more lawyers under investigation for loan modification misconduct, bringing to 14 the number of attorneys who have resigned or been placed on involuntary inactive enrollment since creation of the bar's Loan Modification Task Force in April 2009.
Damon Clark, 32, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Reginald Tardy, Jr., 31, Ferndale, Michigan, each pled guilty in late September 2009, of one count of Racketeering and were sentenced by Judge David Hoort in Montcalm County Circuit Court. Clark was sentenced to 15 months to 20 years in prison, Tardy was sentenced to 18 months to 20 years in prison and...
Jeffrey D. Stadelmann, 47, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, has been indicted on charges of wire fraud in connection with a fraud scheme he is alleged to have conducted between March 2002 and March 2008. If convicted of this charge, Stadelmann would face a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine not to exceed $250,000.
Katherine Vidaurri (aka Katherine Pulliam, Katherine Padilla), 51, Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to Mortgage Fraud, Forgery and Racketeering charges. Second Judicial District Court Judge Reed Sheppard accepted Vidaurri's plea, which could result in up to three years jail time at initial sentencing in 90 days.
Enforcement Action Taken Against ‘Mortgage Rescue’ Operation
Markus Bailey and Tyrone Bailey, Dallas, TX, are subject to a temporary injunction barring them from deceptively operating the unlicensed businesses, Behind on Mortgageand Behind on Mortgages USA at 6060 N. Central Expressway in Dallas. The agreement requires the defendants to either reimburse all customers from whom it collected unlawful fees,...
Clarence Lewis III, 46, Houston, Texas, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole for running a mortgage fraud scheme. United States District Judge Lynn N. Hughes handed down the prison sentence.
As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, Lewis was convicted May 13, 2009, of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and...
Woman Indicted For Using Mortgage Company to Defraud IRS
Shelley Lee Milless, 38, Chaska, Minnesota, pleaded guilty in federal court to preventing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from collecting more than $900,000 in employment taxes from her ex-husband's mortgage brokerage company. Milless pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Paul Magnusonto one count of conspiracy to impair...
Martin Quoc Pham, 28, Garden Grove, California, has been sentenced to 132 months in federal prison for orchestrating two identity theft schemes in which he obtained personal information from hundreds of consumers and used the data in an attempt to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.5 million from home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and credit...
Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, both hedge fund managers at Bear Stearns, have been found not guilty after jury deliberations that lasted less than two days. The two men were acquitted of securities, wire and mail fraud according to media reports.
In June 2008, an indictment was unsealed in a Brooklyn, New York, federal court charging Ralph...
Man Sentenced for Stealing Identities From Mortgage Files
Visanio Eugene Vann, 47, Thousand Oaks, California, was sentenced by United States District Judge S. James Otero in Los Angeles to 95 months in federal prison for orchestrating an identity theft scheme in which he used personal identifying information taken from dozens of mortgage and credit files to fraudulently obtain credit cards that were...
2 Arrested For Fraud Involving Investment and Loan Modification Scams
Alan Espiritu, 35, and Cesar Moreno, 40, were both arrested by Carlsbad Police at their California residences on November 3, 2009. The two men are believed to be responsible for a real estate investment fraud scheme dating back to as early as 2001.
Espiritu and Moreno targeted non-English speaking Hispanics. They told victims that their company,...
President of First Fidelity Mortgage, Inc. Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud
William Everett Nichols, 56, Alexandria, Louisiana, President and sole shareholder of First Fidelity Mortgage, Inc., pleaded guilty to defrauding Sabine State Bankin Many, Louisiana out of $2.9 million.
According to court testimony, Sabine State Bankprovided a line of credit to First Fidelity Mortgage, monies that were in turn used by First...
Mortgage Scam Ends with Prison The Morning Call
A judge didn't hold back when Shirley Matthews appeared before him Tuesday to be sentenced for stealing from a Monroe County man instead of helping him save his home from foreclosure, as she was hired to do.
Woman Gets Prison Time After Mortgage Scam Conviction Pocono Record
A New Jersey woman will be spending two to five years in state prison after she was sentenced on Tuesday for promising to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and then keeping the money she was given for their mortgages.
2 Indicted in Mortgage Scam Face New Charges Newsday.Com
Prosecutors add extra charges to two who are charged in LI mortgage fraud with county legislator, dominatrix and her husband
No Contest Plea Entered in Real Estate Fraud Case Northbay Business Journal
Juan Carlos Alcala of Windsor pleaded no contest to nineteen felony counts and admitted three special allegations for defrauding real estate investors, money laundering and elder fraud.
Bedford Woman Sentenced to a Year in Prison for Mortgage Fraud Plain Dealer
Sharon Cox, 49, of Bedford, was sentenced today to a year in prison for mortgage fraud involving money laundering, theft and receiving stolen property from August 2008 through March.
Former Vegas Resident Charged with Mortgage Fraud in Nevada National Mortgage Professional Magazine
A former Las Vegas resident has been charged with federal conspiracy and fraud charges for his involvement in a Nevada mortgage fraud scheme involving straw buyers and falsified mortgage loan documents...
Missouri Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Belleville News Democrat
A suburban St. Louis mortgage company operator has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for a mortgage fraud scheme.
12-Year Prison Term in Mortgage Swindle Washington Post
A Maryland woman who stole millions from Washington area homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure is a "vulture" whose case should serve as a warning to other con artists...
Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
F. Jeffrey Miller Update - October 20, 2009
A hearing was held in Topeka, Kansas in front of Judge Julie Robinson. Miller is currently being held pending his sentencing which is set for December 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.. Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin, Miller's codefendants, will be sentenced at that time also.
Several motions were heard this week. One was a motion for Miller to be released pending his sentencing. Miller's attorney, Jeff Morris, argued that the court had dismmissed with predjudice the matter involving Miller's purchase of a commercial lawnmower, violating the court ordered monitoring agreement. He also argued that Miller was not a flight risk and should be released. This motion was denied.
Another motion heard by Judge Robinson was that of an escrow account containing proceeds from the sale of Miller's forfeited assets. This account has a balance of $143,000. Attorney Morris argued that his firm was due $100,000 for work done in the Miller matter, to date. The government argued that his 'un-itemized fees' were 'exhorbitant'. The balance of the funds, Morris argued, should be released to the Miller family to help pay for mounting household expenses.
The government argued that the 'Asset Forfeiture Provision' applies down to 'the last penny' and that 'the rights of the victims to made whole are of paramount immportance' and that no routine household expenses like Visa bills, are allowed.
Attorney Morris argues that there is more than enough assets to satisfy the jury's judgement of $2.65 million dollars. The government argues that the estimated value of his assets are only $1.4 million.
The government also stated that Miller has been paid dividends from a company Miller has an ownership interest in; Boreflex. From July, 2008 to present, Miller has been paid $330,509.30 from Boreflex, unbeknownst to the court appointed monitor.
Present in the courtroom was Todd Earnshaw. Earnshaw was indicted along with Miller and others in what is commonly referred to as 'Miller I'. That trial is scheduled to begin on January 11, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
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The information and notices contained on Mortgage Fraud Blog are intended to summarize recent developments in mortgage fraud cases and mortgage banking matters nationwide. The posts on this site are presented as general research and information and are expressly not intended, and should not be regarded, as legal advice. Much of the information on this site concerns allegations made in civil lawsuits and in criminal indictments. All persons are presumed innocent until convicted of a crime. Readers who have particular questions about mortgage banking, mortgage fraud matters or who believe they require legal counsel should seek the advice of an attorney. The creators, editors and sponsors of Mortgage Fraud Blog do not intend to create a confidential relationship or an attorney-client relationship by communication via or arising from this site.
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 
