Tuesday, September 30, 2008
2 Indicted In Arizona Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Kimberly R. Werking, 42, Phoenix, Arizona, and Jeffery Z. Sayegh, 44, Cave Creek, Arizona, were indicted on five counts of forgery, one count of money laundering and one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices. Werking was also indicted on six counts of residential mortgage fraud, five counts of theft and one count of illegal control of an enterprise.
The charges, all felonies, relate to the defendants’ alleged equity “skimming” operation in Phoenix and North Scottsdale, Arizona. These are among the largest indictments issued under the state’s residential mortgage fraud statute (A.R.S. 13-2320), enacted in 2007.
“Acts of fraud such as this jeopardize the security of Arizona’s families, neighborhoods and economy, especially during this time of financial uncertainty,” Goddard said. “I am committed to protecting Arizonans from those who violate the law and undercut the financial stability of businesses and consumers.”
According to court documents, between February 2006 and August 2007, Werking, a licensed Arizona realtor, and Sayegh, a loan officer, collaborated to obtain fraudulent bank mortgages for Werking on five properties in North Scottsdale. Werking, with assistance from Sayegh, allegedly induced lenders to approve applications for bank mortgages and refinancing loans by knowingly misrepresenting the truth or concealing material facts contained in those applications.
The indictment further alleges that Werking “skimmed” over $1 million in equity from the homes through the refinancing process, and, once no more money could be pulled out of the properties, allowed them to go into foreclosure. Werking would purchase homes using false information, receive cash for refinancing them and then not make the mortgage payments.
Werking also collected $350,000 in real estate commissions through the home purchases.
Court documents name eight financial institutions, with collective losses of over $675,000, as victims of the alleged operation: The Carioca Company, Countrywide Financial, Bank of America, Avelo Mortgage, Plaza Home Mortgages, Inc., INDYMAC Bank, Carnegie First Lending Services and Preferred Home Mortgage.
Assistant Attorney General Andrei Cherny is prosecuting this case. For more information, contact Anne Hilby at (602) 542-8019.
mortgage fraud
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Some Sources require Registration.
Erie Area Mortgage Broker Gets Prison in Fraud Case
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Shortly before receiving a nearly three-year federal prison sentence, former mortgage office manager Francis R. Conti told the judge he never meant to defraud any of the homeowners caught up in a widespread local mortgage-fraud scheme.
Three Former Portland-Area Mortgage Brokers Face Fraud Charges
OregonLive.com - Portland, OR
Joel D. Surprenant, Michael Duc Han and Benjamin Lucian Lucescu all were charged with one count of obtaining mortgage loans through materially false and fraudulent pretenses.
Shaker Pair Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Charges
Cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH
Two Shaker Heights residents recently pleaded guilty to charges involving a mortgage scheme with seven area houses and $3 million in fraudulent loans.
Feds File Charges in Five Mortgage Fraud Cases
Chicago Breaking News - Tribune - Chicago, IL
Federal charges were filed today against 37 people and four companies in five separate mortgage fraud cases.
Feds Fighting Back
Contra Costa Times - Walnut Creek, CA
Mortgage fraud has increased so dramatically in the San Joaquin Valley that a task force of federal, state and local agencies has been formed to fight back.
Private Investigator Sees Rise in Mortgage Fraud Due to Economy
PR Web - Ferndale, WA
In the past 12 months his firm has been retained to conduct over 300 mortgage fraud investigations, a 100% increase from 2007.
Former UGA, NFL Football Player Arthur Marshall Charged With Mortgage Fraud Claims
WJBF-TV - Augusta, GA
He is also accused of defrauding three banks in obtaining loans for seven different properties in Columbia and Richmond Counties.
Cuomo Subpoenas Loan Modification Companies
New York Times - United States
“The entire industry is a scam, in my opinion,” Mr. Cuomo said Tuesday. “These are services that homeowners don’t need to pay for in the first place.”
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Relating to Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Imperial Valley News - Holtville, CA
Scavitti admitted that between 2003 and August 2008 he unlawfully diverted mortgage funds that were wire transferred into his client office account to his own personal benefit, resulting in losses in excess of $2.5 million.
Fed Drug Report: Double Trouble for Metro Chicago
ABC7Chicago.com - IL
...Chicago street gang members run a network of legitimate businesses and have engineered mortgage fraud schemes, both to launder drug proceeds...
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
Update - US v. F. Jeffrey Miller, et al.
Miller II: Judge Julie Robinson has ruled in favor of the defense motion granting a continuance for sentencing of the 3 convicted defendants: F. Jeffrey Miller, Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin. The three will now be sentenced after ruling on post trial motions set for August 10, 2009.
Vanatta has been in custody for over 2 years. Vanetta filed a motion for his release pending sentencing. That motion was denied.
Miller remains free pending his sentencing. He has hired a new attorney who filed a motion to delay Miller's sentencing. In one post trial motion, the defense argues as to what assets are subject to seizure.
Defendant Todd Earnshaw is a Kansas City real estate Broker (and brother in law of Miller). Earnshaw has been indicted in what is commonly referred to as Miller I. A trial date for that matter has been set for January, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
The Government filed a motion to revoke Earnshaw's bond and remand him to custody while he awaits trial after learning that he allegedly committed the state crimes of Driving Under the Influence, Handicap Parking Violation and Failure to Control Speed to Avoid a Collision while on pretrial release. Notwithstanding finding that probable cause existed to believe that Earnshaw committed the aforementioned state crimes, Judge Robinson denied the motion, but ordered several strict conditions that Earnshaw must follow pending his trial.
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Rachel Dollar is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles fraud recovery litigation for lenders and secondary market investors nationwide. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. 
