Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Georgia Closing Attorney Indicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Mary Reagan, closing attorney, 39, Alpharetta, Georgia, was charged in a superseding indictment along with Adriene Newby-Allen, aka Cassandra Miller, 39, Alpharetta, Georgia; Brinson Allen , 38, Alpharetta, Georgia; and James Howard Bailey, III, 35, Houston, Texas, on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud in connection with an...
Georgia Finalizes Two Cease and Desist Orders
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance issued two Cease and Desist Orders to Lenox Investment Group, Inc., and Brian Graham. These orders have become final. These Cease and Desist Orders were issued by the Department after it obtained evidence that Lenox Investment Group, Inc., and Brian Graham, engaged in mortgage brokerage/lending...
Monday, March 19, 2007
Washington Settles Suit Against Foreclosure Rescue Operators
A settlement was reached with three Washington-based businesses and their owners accused of taking unfair advantage of homeowners and other property owners facing tax foreclosure. At the same time, the office filed civil charges against two other individuals connected to the case. Fiscal Dynamics, Inc. and Cumulative LLC, Tacoma, Washington, and ...
Loan Officer Gets Exceptional Sentence after Convicted of Defrauding Homeowners
J. Anthony Hansen, 42, loan officer, Tacoma, Washington, was convicted of stealing more than $44,000 from homeowners as part of a program to pay off their mortgages. Hansen received a sentence of 68 months incarceration, $70,600 in restitution and a $10,000 fine. Hansen was convicted February 13, 2007, of 68 counts of theft and one count of money...
Georgia Issues Cease and Desist Orders to Two Unlicensed Mortgage Brokers
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance issued two Cease and Desist Orders to two separate entities. These orders have become final. These Cease and Desist Orders were issued by the Department after it obtained evidence that Real Estate Services Conglomerate, dba RESCOG, and that Eric Joyce, dba Bear Creek Home Lending, engaged in mortgage...
Friday, March 16, 2007
Two Plead Guilty In Florida $10 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme - Operation Whose House
Megan McGuire, Miramar, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and/or wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and Christine A. Brown pled guilty to one court of aggravated identity theft. McGuire and Brown are both scheduled to be sentenced in May 2007 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At sentencing, McGuire faces a maximum statutory...
Minnesota Mortgage Broker Charged in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Ronald Clark Joseph, 49, has been charged with two counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering in connection to a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders out of millions of dollars in Minnesota. The indictment states that between 2004 and 2006, Joseph, a licensed mortgage broker who worked for LHS, Inc., caused...
Thursday, March 15, 2007
North American Real Estate Services Agrees to Georgia Consent Order
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (“Department”) entered into a Consent Order with North American Real Estate Services, Inc. d/b/a Pacific Bancorp (“NARES”), License Number 18601, located at 11555 Heron Bay Blvd., Suite 200, Coral Springs, Florida, and its president, Andrew Santoli, to resolve allegations pertaining to...
Cleveland Man Cons Elderly Woman and Steals $70k in Home Sale Proceeds
Willard Horne Jr., 34, Norfolk, Virginia, was indicted on one count of Theft, with an elderly specification, and one count of Receiving Stolen Property. Horne is alleged to have stolen $85,000 from an 87-year-old woman by claiming that her home at 1446 E. 23rd Street, Cleveland, Ohio, was worth no more than $15,000; however Horne really had sold...
Ohio Mortgage Broker Indicted in Foreclosure Rescue Scheme
Sammy Quick, 29, Brookpark, Ohio, and Brian Cicerchi, 29, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, partners at First Primary Mortgage Inc., deceived a woman out of her home through a “foreclosure rescue scheme” according to court records. The victim got behind in mortgage payments and sought help from mortgage broker, First Primary Mortgage, Inc, located at ...
Nevada Man Charged with Ponzi Scheme
Gary Lee, 52, is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, Use of Unauthorized Access Devices, and Criminal Forfeiture for inducing people to invest in bogus real estate projects in Las Vegas, Nevada using fraudulent deeds of trust and promises of high returns on their investments. A warrant was issued...
Nevada Woman Charged with 61-Count Indictment in Investment Scheme
Connie S. Farris, 62, owner-operator of Global Express Capital Corporation is charged with 61 counts of Mail Fraud for inducing people to invest in deeds of trust that reportedly paid high interest rates but which did not exist. A warrant was issued for her arrest. According to the Indictment, Connie S. Farris owned several companies which were...
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Phillip Hill, Nine Others Convicted in Atlanta of $41 Million Mortgage Fraud
After an eight week trial, a federal jury today returned guilty verdicts against ten defendants charged with multiple counts in a mortgage fraud scheme that targeted the Atlanta, Georgia metro housing and condo market from 2000 through part of 2003. The verdicts returned today included guilty verdicts on charges of loan fraud, wire and mail...
Florida Duo Pleads Guilty to Running a Real Estate Investment Scheme
Lazaro J. Rodriguez and Frederick Ira Wolfe entered guilty pleas in connection with a fraudulent internet-based investment scheme. When sentenced on May 23, 2007, and May 30, 2007, respectively, they face up to 20 years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines. Rodriguez was the president and Wolfe the chief executive officer of The Firm “Financial,”...
Appraiser Pleads Guilty in New Jersey Affordable Homes Mortgage Fraud Case
Michael Meehan, 47, Bellmar, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to a one-count Information which charges him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for creating and submitting to various mortgage lenders materially false and misleading property appraisals in the names of nominee buyers. Meehan is the fourth defendant associated with N.J. Affordable Homes,...
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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 
