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.
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Dollar in the News
Rachel Dollar, attorney, certified mortgage banker, certified financial crimes investigator and founding partner of the law firm Smith Dollar, was just 17 when she first took a job in a law office.
Women in Business 2010: Professional Services: Rachel Dollar
Robert J. Demello Jr., 48, formerly of Augusta, Georgia, Raymond W. Turner, 69, Hephizibah, Georgia, and William B. Raulerson, 37, Evans, Georgia, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of mortgage fraud.
The indictment alleges that from 2003 through 2010, Demello Jr, Turner and Raulerson conspired to defraud Southern Bank,...
Former NFL Player Sentenced on Mortgage Fraud Charges
Arthur James Marshall, Jr., 41, Augusta, Georgia, was sentenced to 69 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release for his mortgage fraud convictions. Marshall was also ordered to pay more than $3.6 million restitution to his victims.
Evidence presented at sentencing and as previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog, revealed that Marshall...
John R. Thompson, Emanuel County, Georgia, an attorney, has been convicted of mortgage fraud charges.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Thompson, along with his co conspirators, Brian and Natasha Steptoe sold a piece of property located in Swainsboro, Georgia, in August of 2007 to what is known in real estate terms as a "straw...
Georgia Indictments Announced in Connection with Operation Stolen Dreams
Douglas Ballard, the former executive vice president and risk management officer, and Joseph Foster, the chief lending officer, were indicted on several counts of bank fraud, receipt of bribes, securities fraud, and structuring of cash deposits. The 51-count indictment (returned by a federal grand jury on April 14, 2010), relating to the...
Brian Steptoe, 41, and Natasha Steptoe, 38, Emanuel County, Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal district court to bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, respectively.
Evidence presented during their guilty pleas revealed that the Steptoes, with the assistance of others, knowingly submitted a false loan application and other documentation...
Former Broker Sentenced for Multiple Mortgage Scams
Edward William Farley, 47, Hoschton, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 25 years in federal prison on charges of bank fraud and conspiracy involving mortgage fraud, a real estate investment "Ponzi" scheme with over a hundred victims, a check-kiting scheme and bankruptcy fraud. Walter Julius Hermann, 41, Dunwoody, Georgia, was also sentenced to...
Members of Reverse Mortgage Fraud Ring Plead Guilty
Kelsey Torrey Hull, 38, and Jonathan Alfred Kimpson, 27, both of Lithonia, Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal district court to a conspiracy to defraud reverse mortgage lenders and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurer of the loans. Hull pleaded guilty to an additional bank fraud charge involving mortgage fraud, and Kimpson pleaded to...
Brent Merriell, 37, Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal district court to charges of making false statements to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment and as previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog, Merriell obtained millions of dollars in loans from Omni National...
Former Attorney Sentenced for Multi Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud
Trent Edward Wright, 38, Cumming, Georgia, was sentenced on a mail fraud charge involving a mortgage fraud scheme which victimized lenders and title insurance companies.
Wright was sentenced to 1 year, 9 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,409,760 in restitution to the victims of the scheme....
Three Members of a Reverse Mortgage Fraud Ring Charged
Jonathan Alfred Kimpson, 27, Lithonia, Georgia, and Gia Harris, 26, Atlanta, Georgia, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud involving so-called "reverse" mortgages. Kimpson was also charged with aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. Kelsey Torrey Hull, 38, Lithonia, Georgia,...
Latoya Dawkins, 28, of Augusta, Georgia, was sentenced to imprisonment for 12 months and 1 day for making a false statement to a bank in a mortgage application. Dawkins was also ordered to pay $253,000 in restitution. Dawkins entered a guilty plea in July 2009 to one count of making a false statement to a federally insured bank in violation of...
Former High Level Executive of Failed Bank Pleads Guilty
Jeffrey L. Levine, 68, Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal district court to causing materially false entries that overvalued bank assets to be made in the books, reports and statements of Omni National Bank. Such practices contributed to the over 500 foreclosures and an additional 500 non-performing loans, which resulted in at least $7...
Brent Merriell, 37, Atlanta, Georgia has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of aggravated identity theft and false statements to the FDIC.
According to the charges and other information presented in court: Merriell obtained several million dollars in loans in his name and in the names of his family and friends from "Omni National...
Criminal Action by Georgia Dept of Banking Results in Guilty Plea
Kawana Latrell Melvin entered a first offender plea on October 19, 2009, in the Superior Court of Clayton County to felony charges that she unlawfully transacted mortgage business without a license, registration or under an applicable exemption; and made a false statement with respect to her eligibility to work in the Georgia residential...
Dallas' Mortgage Fraud Clusted in 75201 ZIP Code, Study Finds Dallas Morning News
Dallas' 75201 ZIP code includes the snazzy Arts District, some of the city's tallest skyscrapers and a chunk of fashionable Uptown...The area is also ground zero for North Texas mortgage fraud.
Cracking Down on Mortgage Fraud San Diego Union Tribune
...federal prosecutors say the business was the center of a mortgage fraud scheme that churned out scores of bogus W-2 forms, fake pay stubs and false tax records for a network of almost two dozen real estate agents and loan officers.
President of Mortgage Brokerage Firm Guilty in $23 Million Scam New York Daily News
Ramnauth, 54, of Levittown, L.I., and his cohorts in the scheme collected massive fees from inflated mortgages by using "straw buyers" who flipped the homes again and again.
Mortgage Fraud Enabled The Spokesman Review
The massive mortgage fraud that occurred between 1999 and 2008 was publicly known by 2002.
Woman Sentenced In Mortgage Fraud Scheme Citizens Voice
A woman was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for her role in a Luzerne County mortgage fraud scheme five years ago...
Thursday, February 18, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Continued Testimony
As reported by Anne Mitchell, who viewed the trial:
Angela Parenza worked for Jeff Miller as the office manager for 7 or 8 years beginning in 1998. Parenza was indicted along with Miller and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. Parenza testified that Miller or his contractors allegedly preferred to build all the...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Coverage Continued - Witness Testimony
Steve Middleton Testimony - Coverage Provided by Anne Mitchell
The Government continued in its cross examination of Steve Middleton. He was shown several HUD-1 statements involving sales of homes located in Overland Park, KS, and Olathe, KS. The HUD statements each allegedly showed line items of payments to (James) Moser & Associates, LLC's...
Monday, February 01, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Coverage - Continued Witness Examination
According to Anne Mitchell, who is present in court for the trial:
Next Witness: Kelly Sanford
Kelly Sanford of the Federal Reserve was a short witness for the Government. Sanford manages electronic payments between banks and member financial institutions. He was shown copies of wire transfers and asked whether they coincided with the counts in...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial - Prosecution Witnesses Continued
According to Anne Mitchell, who is viewing the trial:
January 13, 2010
Witness: Rick Hayes
Rick Hayes testified that on the day that he closed on his Miller Enterprise home, he received a phone call from the Kansas Banking Commission informing him that his loan was fraudulent. After the Hayes responded to a classified ad, they met with John...
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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 
