Monday, May 05, 2008

2 Plead Guilty In Scheme To Defraud Lenders

Kolawole Aminu, 45, a Nigerian national, pleaded guilty to conspiring to make a false statement in connection with a scheme to defraud a mortgage lender. Oyekunle Ikudayisi, 39, White Plains, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charge on April 23, 2008.

According to court documents (their plea agreements are currently sealed), Aminu and Ikudayisi conspired with others to purchase properties from a company owned by a co-conspirator.  Aminu and Ikudayisi obtained mortgage loans for the properties in their own names, using their good credit histories.  The co-conspirator, however, was responsible for making all payments associated with the purchase of the properties, including the down payments, closing costs and mortgage payments.  The defendants made false statements on loan applications as to their incomes and intent to make the properties their primary residences, and signed settlement documents indicating they were making the down payments on those properties, paying the closing costs associated with the transactions and making the mortgage payments, when in fact they were not.  Aminu was paid $10,000 for his participation in the scheme.

As part of this scheme, Aminu purchased 4304 Payne Drive, Fort Washington, Maryland in June 2006. The property went into foreclosure in April 2007, resulting in a loss to the mortgage lender of over $70,000.  Ikudayisi purchased three properties from July to September 2006: 7601 Webster Lane, Ft. Washington; 2609 Brentwood Road NE, Washington, D.C.; and 4302 Alton Street, Capitol Heights, Maryland.  All three properties went into foreclosure, resulting in estimated losses to the mortgage lenders of $190,847. 

The defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. has scheduled sentencing for Aminu on August 21, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. and for Ikudayisi on August 22, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.

mortgage fraud