Thursday, December 05, 2002

11 Sentenced in $16 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

William S. Duffey, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia; Theodore Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Dennis L. Collins, Postal Inspector in Charge, announce that sentences have been handed down against 11 DEFENDANTS, charged with mortgage fraud, conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, using false Social Security numbers, and submission of false documents. According to Duffey:

KAY WILLIAMS POLOTE, 41, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, a mortgage broker at Gold Coast Mortgage, and Northeast Mortgage, both in Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison. POLOTE pleaded to a Criminal Information in this case on August 29, 2002. POLOTE pleaded guilty to originating and brokering 83 fraudulent loans for unqualified borrowers, where bogus payoffs totaling approximately $1 million were made from the loan proceeds to shell companies controlled by POLOTE and other co-conspirators. According to the charges, POLOTE also got broker’s fees for each loan ranging in amounts from $1,500 up to $35,000. POLOTE submitted to lenders false documents, including false employment, income, W-2’s, pay stubs, driver’s licenses, checks, lease agreements, certificates of primary residency, false down payments and other false documents.
Other sentences imposed down in this case involve “straw borrowers” who conspired with POLOTE to submit the false documents as if they were legitimate home purchasers, when, in fact, they had no intention of living in any of the two dozen residences related to the charges. “Straw borrowers,” aided by POLOTE, deceived legitimate lenders and then distributed the ill-gotten gains amongst POLOTE and the straw borrowers. The following were convicted as “straw borrowers”:

WAYNE S. MILTON, 29, of Lithonia, Georgia, named in a Criminal Information as falsely claiming to be a “Presiding Bishop” of Greater Grace Church in Newnan,Georgia, recruited other straw borrowers, and provided false documents claiming that other “straw borrowers” were “head ministers” at the church, with individual incomes of over $100,000. MILTON was sentenced to 2 years, 9 months in federal prison. He was ordered to pay $329,591 in restitution, and ordered to serve 3 years supervised release.
CURTIS EUGENE PRYSOCK, 41, of Dunwoody, Georgia, who was convicted of assisting MILTON in the church-related fraud, was sentenced to 2 years, 9 months in federal prison. He was ordered to pay $292,054 in restitution, perform 150 hours of community service, and ordered to serve 3 years supervised release.

AL BEINE JACOBS, 58, of Atlanta, Georgia, but had no listed address, was cited in the Criminal Information as a homeless person who was recruited by PRYSOCK and MILTON to pose as a “head minister” to facilitate loans for homes and vehicles. JACOBS was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison, ordered to pay restitution of $202, 054, and ordered to serve 3 years supervised release.

ALONZO BRYANT, 32, of Austell, Georgia, was sentenced to 1 year of home confinement, ordered to pay $147,352 in restitution, perform 150 hours of community service, and serve 3 years supervised release.

STANLEY WILSON, 36, of Macon, Georgia, was sentenced to 1 year of home confinement, ordered to pay $386,150 in restitution, perform 150 hours of community service, and serve 3 years supervised release.

HELEN WALLACE BOONE, 55, of Albany, Georgia, was sentenced to 1 year of home confinement, ordered to pay $386,150 in restitution, perform 150 hours of community service, and ordered to serve 3 years supervised release.

VANTIONNE EASON, 35, of Austell, Georgia, who was sentenced to 6 months of home confinement, ordered to pay $87,609 in restitution, perform 150 hours of community service, and ordered to serve 3 years supervised release.

PAMELA CLARKE, 38, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who was sentenced to 4 months in federal prison, 4 months in home detention, and ordered to pay a fine of $5,000. CLARKE was convicted of not only being a “straw borrower” but also used her position as a customer service rep at Citizen’s Trust Bank, to facilitate false “verifications of deposit” for other “straw borrowers” whose loans were brokered by POLOTE. CLARKE received amounts of cash, usually $500 per transaction.

SHANTERRIE WRIGHT, 23, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who was sentenced to 5 years probation and ordered to serve 120 hours of community service. WRIGHT was also an employee of Citizen’s Trust Bank, who was convicted of facilitating false documents as part of the scheme. Also sentenced as part of the scheme, DALVA RAY ORANGE, 38, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who was a business partner of POLOTE in Gold Coast Mortgage, was convicted of being a “straw borrower” while President of Gold Coast Mortgage, and participating in the scheme of generating false documents, including shell companies which received the bogus payoffs. ORANGE was sentenced to 2 years, 9 months in federal prison, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $592,348, and serve 3 years supervised release.

Three other defendants, CURTIS JOHNSON, CARLTON ROBINSON, and ALBERT ROYAL TAYLOR III have pleaded guilty to related charges in the scheme and await sentencing, all of which are scheduled in January, 2003.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI, with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant United States Attorney Gale Mc Kenzie is prosecuting the case.

mortgage fraud