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
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The US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia unsealed a superseding grand jury indictment charging 21 individuals in a complicated mortgage fraud scheme alleged to have operated between June 2004 and April 18, 2006. The indictment includes 99 counts including bank fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and identity document fraud.
Those indicted and relevant allegations concerning their roles as reflected in the first superseding indictment were:
Olympia D. Ammons, St. Louis, Missouri, loan officer with Ace Mortgage Funding. Ammons originated a number of mortgage loans for unqualified borrowers and was paid funds by Wings in addition to her commissions;
Mohamed ‘Mo’ Bayorh, an unqualified borrower who was paid $547,000 through his company, Fairington Winslow, Inc., to obtain in excess of $1.3 Million in mortgages in his own name and to recruit other straw borrowers;
Andre B. Benson, alleged to have been paid $260,000 to cause his mother to obtain over $1.3 million in mortgage loans;
Raymond Joseph Costanzo, Jr., attorney, Atlanta, Georgia, closed a number of fraudulent loans while concealing material facts from the lenders According to the indictment Costanzo was also paid $250,000 to obtain in excess of $1.5 million in mortgage loans for which he did not qualify;
Clarence Lorenzo Davis aka C. Dave Davis is accused of falsely verifying employment for his girlfriend, Virginia Rose Novrit, through his company C. Dave Davis LLC and her income, residence and source of down payments in order to assist attempts to obtain over $6.6 million in mortgage loans.
Mohammad Amin Hassamadi, builder, was the CEO, CFO and Secretary of Polo Tech Construction, Inc. the seller of properties in the St. Marlo Subdivision
Joseph Sterling Jetton is alleged to have arranged for the recruitment of straw borrowers to obtain in excess of $19 million in loans for which they were not qualified. Jetton induced participation in the scheme by professing religious values. Though neither Jetton nor his company, Precision Construction Co., was licensed as real estate broker or agent, they appeared as the listing broker on a number of purchase and sale agreements.
David S. Kroll of DKS Consulting, Inc. allegedly assisted Virginia Rose Novrit to obtain in excess of $1.7 million in mortgages by depositing money into her account to facilitate generation of a verification of deposit, fronted her down payment money and received payment in his company name for those services from the loan proceeds.
Leon Kelly Lumsden of LL & Associates Investment Firm used his company name to provide false employment and income for unqualified borrowers, including himself. He was paid through LL & Associates Investment Firm and G&L Holdings, Inc. to assist Wings in recruiting straw borrowers.
Ronald Denzil Martin, Jr. was allegedly a paid $145,000 to act as straw borrower for in excess of $1.3 million in mortgage loans.
Ricardo Antonio Myrie was allegedly paid $600,000 to act as straw borrower for in excess of $3 million in mortgage loans.
Hassan Nimapoo, builder, was the CEO, CFO and Secretary of Crown Custom Homes, Inc. and the owner of Lum Crowe Development, LLC, the sellers of number of homes in the St. Marlo and Litchfield Estates Subdivisions.
Virginia Rose Novrit was a straw borrower who attempted to obtain over $6.6 million in mortgages for which she was not qualified
Lawrence Seval Reid aka Lawrence Steven Reid, allegedly an illegal alien using an alias and the stolen SSN of a minor child, was a straw borrower who was paid over $256,000 to obtain mortgage loans in excess of $1.9 million, according to the indictment.
Ariel Hope Samuel aka Arial Carty, an illegal alien and girlfriend of Reid, provided false verifications for Reid as well as the shell company, Raggstone, Inc. for receipt of Reid loan proceeds. She is further alleged to have used false employment and a stolen SSN to obtain a vehicle and mortgage loan in her Carty alias.
Attemerell Smith is alleged to have acted as a straw borrower for over $1.3 million in mortgage loans.
Daryl Maurice Smith was the owner of McSmith Properties and was a partner in G&L Holdings with Gregory Wings and Leon Lumsden. Daryl Smith was allegedly paid $332,5000 to cause his mother, Attemerell Smith , to obtain mortgage loans exceeding $1.3 million for a property where Daryl Smith wished to reside. He also allegedly received payments for recruitment of other straw borrowers.
Randall Tharp, builder, vice-president of Paddocks Development, Inc. the seller of a property in the Cobblestone Farms Subdivision. Tharp also allegedly acted for his wife as the seller of other properties in the Paddocks Subdivision and elsewhere.
Fabian O. Witlshire allegedly arranged for Kroll to assist Novrit in obtaining in excess of $1.7 million in mortgage loans.
Gregory Jerome Wings, Jr. aka G Money used companies, including G&L Holdings Group, Inc. and Metropolitan Realty, to receive over $2.8 in payments for recruiting straw borrowers. He was also paid to obtain mortgages in his own name for which he was not qualified and, in addition, he and/or Metropolitan Realty were listed as seller broker although not licensed to act as such, according to the indictment.
Calvin Lee Wright is alleged to have been paid over $527,000 to act as a straw borrower for in excess of $3.5 million in mortgage loans.
The case was initially instituted on April 22, 2005 with a magistrate complaint against Novrit. On July 5, 2005, twenty-count indictment was filed charging only Novrit and Davis. The superseding indictment naming the additional nineteen defendants was filed under seal by the US Attorney on April 19, 2006.
According to the indictment, the defendants would recruit straw borrowers, including illegal aliens, to purchase residential properties from builders and others, often at fraudulently inflated prices. They would then obtain artificially inflated appraisals to support the purchase prices, often hundreds of thousands of dollars over the list prices. The defendants would then obtain fraudulently inflated mortgage loans in the names of the unqualified straw borrowers with the excess loan proceeds to be disbursed to the straw borrowers, their recruiters, those fronting borrower down payments, the builders and other sellers. The loan applications contained misrepresentations regarding borrower employment, income, assets, liabilities and/or intent to occupy. Down payment information was also misrepresented as down payments were either made by way of cashier’s checks drawn from loan proceeds disbursed at closing or by way of loan from a coconspirator. Shell companies were also utilized to funnel loan proceeds to recruiters, straw borrowers, those fronting down payments and other coconspirators.
According to the indictment, some of the straw borrowers were informed that the properties would be rented to ‘actresses and ball players.’ They were also told that the mortgages, insurance and taxes would be paid for them and that they would make additional money when the properties were sold.
The properties mentioned in the indictment include:
the lawyer (Joe Costanzo’s) dad was a famous WW2 veteran, former POW and superintendant of Arlington Cemetary for 20 years. Costanzo is a 1969 Emory law grad; conditions of release in the online case file imply a substance impairment issue
Posted by on 05/15 at 09:22 AM
Isn’r Virginia Rose Novrit the former mayor of Barnegat Township NJ??
Posted by on 05/15 at 02:07 PM
Gregory Wings’ wife went to the government and made up lies about him, after he found out she had been involved with another woman for 3 months and he put her out of their home, and got custody of his kids.
Posted by on 06/07 at 05:44 PM
The lawyer Raymond Costanzo Jr. is pleading guilty on October 18, 2006 in Atlanta.
Posted by on 10/11 at 09:47 AM
I would be very interested to find out what the latest news is on this case!
Posted by on 07/18 at 10:28 AM
Hassan Nimapoo of Crown Custom Homes was exonerated of all charges on Nov 27, 2007
Posted by on 11/30 at 01:18 PM
This trial is over, Jetton is facing 35 years and I’ve heard that Nimapoo got a hung jury. Not sure on the other defendents.....
Anyone see any press releases?
Posted by on 12/08 at 11:34 AM
Here’s an update on a few of the sentences. YIKES!
Joseph Jetton was sentenced to 14 years and full restitution.
He is innocent, and anyone who talks with him for even an hour would believe that.
Posted by on 10/12 at 05:39 PM
i love gregory wings!!
Posted by on 10/14 at 10:15 AM
I highly doubt Joe Jetton is innocent. I have history with this man. He is brilliantly fraudulent in his character. Don’t let him fool you.
Posted by on 12/08 at 03:44 AM
This proves on thing never trust a woman with your money.. I know she sold him out.
Posted by on 01/01 at 10:01 AM
Joe Jetton is not decieving. He is the strongest man in our family. He was and is a man of character and is no fool nor is he fooling anyone. Talk to him, you would know that he had nothing to do with this mess. He is innocent
Failed Mortgage Firm Trustee Allowed $50,000 in Fees Union Leader
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge J. Michael Deasy will approve $50,000 in legal fees for the trustee of failed mortgage brokerage businesses Financial Resources Mortgage Inc. and CL&M Inc.
Bend Oregon Event to Help Homeowners Prevent Foreclosures Oregon.Gov
As part of an ongoing effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, state agencies are organizing a foreclosure-prevention event in Bend on Saturday, March 27, 2010.
Shelbyville Man Gets 2-Year Sentence For Loan Fraud Chattanoogan.Com
Prosecutor Gary Humble said the lost was approximately $2.3 million in the mortgage fraud involving hundreds of homes in the Shelbyville area.
Lend America, VP Ashley Banned from FHA Housing Wire
Michael Ashley, the embattled former vice president of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage originator Lend America, and the company he worked for, were permanently banned from doing business in the industry last week.
Countrywide Tries to Pin Blame on Insurer Court House News
Countrywide Home Loans demands $111 million from Triad Guaranty Insurance, claiming Triad is trying to blame mortgage lenders for the insurer's role in the housing bubble and collapse.
Investors Say They Were Swindled in Property Scheme Fox 13 Now
Utah Division of Consumer Protection is joining forces with a few investors who claim they have been cheated by an agency called "Utah Mini Ranches.
Greenfield Man Accused of Housing Scam The Republic
A former real estate agent conned at least eight people by renting them properties actually owned by a federal agency and then running off with their deposits, prosecutors said.
Appraisal Institute Opposes Obama Administration's Plan for Homeowner 'Short Sales' PR News Wire
Citing concerns about increased mortgage fraud, four organizations representing more than 35,000 real estate appraisers today voiced their opposition to changes to an Obama administration program that will encourage "short sales" of homes.
Ownership Rights to Get Another Look TBO.Com
State lawmakers may beef up protections of property owners' rights by rewriting a law this spring that is at the center of a case of alleged fraud in Pasco County.
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 
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