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. Email Ms. Dollar

Mortgage Fraud Blog is co-sponsored by Interthinx the leading provider of fraud services and solutions for the mortgage industry.



Advanced Search
Enter your Email


Powered by FeedBlitz

Dollar in the News

November 18, 1008 - Willamette Week
House of Gain

November 14, 2008 - JAMS
ADR Update: The Subprime Fallout

July 13, 2008 - Tampa Tribune
Close Door on Real Estate Fraud

More Articles

Quick Links

Categories

Monthly Archives

Syndicate

You're welcome to post our feed on your site and provide your readers with the latest Headlines! Just select "Get Widget" below . . .
  

Subscribe in NewsGator Online

What's this?

Recent Posts

- Ohio Mortgage Fraudster Sentenced To 20 Months
- Missouri Man Pleads Guilty To Loan And Appraisal Misreps
- Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Stealing $4M From Real Estate Closings
- California Man Steals Deceased Child’s Identity
- North Carolina Woman Gets 36 Months For Wire Fraud
- Victim Borrowers Allowed To Testify
- Utah Man Indicted For Making Loan Application Misrepresentations
- Texas Mortgage Fraudster Convicted
- Arizona Man Indicted for Mortgage Loan Assistance Scam
- Leader Of $10M Mortgage Fraud Scheme Gets 8 Years

Friday, November 09, 2007

6 Charged For Defrauding HUD And Private Lenders

Richard Elroy Giddens, 67, Riverside, John Richard Varner, 54, Hesperia, Stephen Ray Harper, 50, Ontario, and Katherine Ann Kilmer, 52, Hesperia, all of California, and all former officers with the now-defunct Inland Empire mortgage lender, were arrested by Federal Agents on charges of defrauding the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and private lenders by fraudulently obtaining federally insured loans and selling those notes to private lenders.

Two more defendants charged in the case – Ricardo Bonilla, 46, Fontana, California, and Abraham Julian Rezex, 59, Downey, California – are expected to self-surrender later this month.

All six defendants are charged with conspiracy and bank fraud. Giddens and Varner are charged with subscribing to a false tax return. Harper is charged with willful failure to file a tax return.

The scheme, which ran from 1997 until 2002, was run out of the Mortgage One Corporation, which was based in Hesperia, California and M-1 Capital Corporation, which was based in Riverside and Rancho Cucamonga, California. The two companies were in the business of approving, funding and then selling home mortgage loans, typically obtaining mortgage insurance of the loans from the Federal Housing Administration, which is an agency within HUD.

The indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to defraud HUD by submitting fraudulent loan application documents in order to qualify the loans for FHA insurance. The indictment further alleges that Mortgage One and M-1 Capital sold the funded loans to banks using the same fraudulent documents. HUD has identified more than 850 FHA-insured loans approved by Mortgage One and M-1 Capital that went into foreclosure and made insurance claims to HUD. Investigators estimate that the losses suffered by the government and the private lenders are at least $10 million.

Three of the defendants arrested are expected to make their initial appearances before a United States Magistrate Judge in Riverside, California. Giddens is expected to make his initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge in Los Angeles, California.

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is five years in federal prison. The maximum penalty for the bank fraud charge is 30 years in prison. The maximum penalties for the tax charges range from one to three years in prison.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, HUD’s Office of Inspector General, and IRS-Criminal Investigation.  The investigation received assistance from the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General.

   

Posted by Staff Reporter on 11/09/07 at 04:33 AM
Mortgage FraudCalifornia • Total comments: (5) (0) Trackbacks
  1. Good article Rachel. I’m from Canada and when I read things like this it’s no wonder the real estate market is on a downswing.

    This is a great blog, Can’t wait to read your other articles!

    Posted by  on  11/09  at  09:23 AM
  2. I say to all these frauds and swindlers....I hope you get locked up and the keys thrown into the sea…

    Posted by  on  11/11  at  03:01 PM
  3. Elroy Giddens had a charge of identity theft dismissed against him in Arizona, shortly before this arrest in California.  He tried to pass himself off as an attorney briefly in Arizona, then went to work for a local bail bondsman (now out of business). He is a disbarred California lawyer, around for a very long time involved in all sorts of various “activities.” Check his record with the California State Bar.  Prison time in Texas as well for weapons possession.

    Posted by  on  12/04  at  02:56 PM
  4. I was mislead down a merry path, on a non-prime loan in Arizona.  The lender claims they lend nationwide, and sent this flyer out stating they can do all theses different types of mortgages.  Once I contacted them and send all information to them, they shot me back some terms penciled out on my same fax cover sheet.  Communication was poor to say the least.  Then they asked for $2,500.  UPFRONT prior to looking at the appraisal, and prelim, along with credit and application.  We wasted 3+ weeks, on this loan, going back in forth.  Come to find out after I researched them, they are NOT LICENSED IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK FOR WHICH THEY CLAIM THEY ARE LICENSED.  VERIFIED BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK.  THESE PEOPLE NEED TO BE STOPPED.  WE, DO NOT COLLECT ANY MONEY UPFRONT IN OUR STATE.  ALL FUNDS WE COLLECT ARE AT THE CLOSING.  PLEASE PAST THIS INFO ON AND DON’T LET OTHERS BE TAKEN ADVANCE OF.

    Posted by  on  03/24  at  06:56 AM
  5. Should would like to know what happened with this fraud case in California!
    Prison is too good for Giddens.

    Posted by  on  08/29  at  09:54 AM

Post a Comment

Name:

Email:

Location:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


The trackback URL for this entry is:

Trackbacks:

Enter your Email


Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz
image


Today's News

Some Sources require Registration.

 

Mortgage Fraud: Beware the Wolf (Loan Officer) in Sheep's Clothing
24-7PressRelease.com - USA
US consumers looking to refinance their homes or to secure a home loan to purchase their dream homes would be well advised to educate themselves...

Internet Scammer Sells Cape Coral Residential Lot For $18,000
The News-Press - Fort Myers, FL
Because she had title insurance, Kunda will probably get back her money from the 2007 purchase, but the incident highlights cracks in the real estate market and the risk from international scammers who are growing more sophisticated.

Prosecutors Busy With Fraud Cases
Daytona Beach News-Journal - Daytona Beach, FL
The U.S. Justice Department has formed more than 40 mortgage fraud task forces nationwide as prosecutors and investigators struggle with a flood of mortgage-related criminal cases. The FBI reports that its mortgage-fraud caseload has more than doubled in three years to about 1,600 investigations that have cost lenders at least $4 billion. About 200 FBI agents are assigned to the cases, up from 120 a year ago.

Yanchek may take plea deal
Herald Tribune
Sarasota attorney John Yanchek is expected to plead guilty to mortgage fraud next week, statements from a federal prosecutor and the judge presiding over the high-profile criminal case seem to indicate.

Bear Stearns Execs Trial Slated for September
News Inferno
Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund executives are slated to go to trial in September over charges that they lied to investors about two of the funds they managed

Rockford, Chicago lead state in mortgage fraud
Rockford Register Star
Reported incidents of mortgage fraud grew by 45 percent in the second quarter compared with the year-ago period.

Report Finds Tampa No. 2 In Florida For Iffy Mortgages
Tampa Bay Online
In a state that leads the nation in mortgage fraud, Tampa had the second most cases of suspicious loan activity of any Florida city, according to a report released this morning from the Reston, Va.-based Mortgage Asset Research Institute.

Mortgage Fraud Jumps by 45% on Fewer Loan Applications in U.S., Per... MARI
Cloud Computing Journal
Key findings from the MARI Quarterly Fraud Report include that fraud most often occurs at the beginning of the loan process. More than 65 percent of fraud incidents are attributed to "General Application Misrepresentation"

Seven Are Accused Of Identity Theft And Mortage Fraud
The Star Ledger, New Jersey
Seven people have been arrested in connection with an international identity-theft scheme that targeted home equity lines of credit and siphoned at least $2.5 million away from dozens of banks, including more than 10 in New Jersey, according to documents unsealed today.

Suthers Cracks Down On Mortgage Fraud
Rocky Mountain News - Denver, CO
Suther’s office also indicted 10 individuals last March in an $11 million mortgage fraud ring involving 34 local properties...Several other investigations of mortgage fraud are ongoing.

Previous Articles

TRIAL COVERAGE

Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.

U.S. v. Miller, et al.

Thursday, December, 18, 2008

Verdict:

F. Jeffrey Miller Guilty of Conspiracy and Money Laundering

Steven Vanatta Guilty of Conspiracy , Money Laundering and Bank Fraud

Hallie Irvin Guilty of Conspiracy , Money Laundering and Bank Fraud

Sandra Jo Harris Not guilty- all counts



More Trial Coverage

What's Your Opinion?

Real Estate Blog Top SitesBlog Flux DirectoryBlog Directory & Search engineBlog Directory
Blogarama - The Blog DirectoryListed on BlogShares

© Copyright 2004-2007 Rachel M. Dollar

Legal Disclaimer.
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.

Real Estate Blog Top Sites Blog Flux Directory Blog Directory & Search engine Blog Directory
Blogarama - The Blog Directory Listed on BlogShares