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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Justin D. Barker, 31, and Robert W. Hulbert, Jr., 45, both of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. The maximum penalty faced by both individuals is 30 years imprisonment, a fine in the amount of $1 million, a term of supervised release of up to five years, and special assessment of $100.
According to the plea agreements and the criminal information, between January 2005 and June 2006, Barker negotiated with sellers of residential real estate properties, who executed Purchase and Sale Agreements to sell their properties at a given price. A co-conspirator, who was a licensed real estate appraiser, then fraudulently appraised the properties at substantially higher amounts than those stated on the Purchase and Sale Agreements. The conspirators provided a second, fraudulent, Purchase and Sale Agreement—showing the inflated appraisal price—along with various fraudulent loan application documents, to lenders, including federally insured lending institutions. Based on the fraudulent documents, the lenders approved loans in the amounts of the inflated appraisals.
The properties included:
13782 Sand Pebble Ct. Jacksonville, Florida;
1994 Norton Hill Dr., Jacksonville, Florida; and
19098 W 164th Terrace, Olathe, Kansas.
Hulbert, as the manager of the Jacksonville branch of Nations Title Agency of Florida, operated as the closing agent for the transactions. At the closings, Hulbert would disburse funds from the lenders, providing the sellers with checks in the amount of the original sales prices, and providing the remainder of the loan funds—the proceeds of the fraud—to one or more of the conspirators.
The fraudulently obtained mortgages resulted in lenders extending approximately $17.7 million in mortgage loans, which would not have been approved but for the fraudulent documents. The conspirators grossed approximately $4.024 milion in proceeds from the fraudulent transactions.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Susan Humes Raab and Arnold B. Corsmeier.
This is so great he is getting punished. The last house he ‘owned’ was on my street, and scary enough, two doors down. I remember he bought it under a different name, moved in, and moved out months later. While he was there though, he rode his motorcycles around. He cleaned his Escalade one a week. He threw parties. He also had this annoying litle dog named Higgins who always pooped in my neighbors yard and he never cleaned it up. I’m pretty sure he had a Louis Vuitton collar for his dog too. Then he left. There was a U-Haul in front of his house for a few days and then he was gone. If you peer through the windows of the house now, you can tell he tried to flip it. He colored the walls lime green, bright yellow, and neon blue. It is not the prettiest colors to paint walls. There are also beer bottles he left there. I feel bad for the family that sold it to him. Well, it’s good he is going to jail. He deserves it. The address I’m referring to is not on here though.
Posted by on 06/18 at 04:27 PM
My brother and myself were both victims to these guys and both still have homes in our names that we’re currently trying to “short sell”. Of course the banks want to hold us responsible for their losses. What can we do or who can we contact for help with this? We feel lost and helpless. I mean these guys get their prison time and that is some feeling of justice for us. However, our credit and financial futures are a mess with no light at the end of the tunnel. It just doesn’t seem right that the banks all get bail out money and we (also victims not just the banks) are still held fully responsible with no “bail out” help at all. We’re out of money and have no idea where to seek help with this. Can someone please shed some light on this for me?
Posted by on 02/16 at 08:41 AM
Some guys who are my neighbours are cheated by the estate company.But they have not any evidence to ask the company to return back the money.Is there any advice to them?Many thanks.
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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