Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Man Indicted for Wire Fraud in Minnesota
Micah John Beaumia, 29, was charged May 11, 2009, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with nine counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with a scheme to conceal payments from mortgage loan proceeds.
His indictment alleges that from 2005 through 2006 Beaumia devised the scheme through his involvement with LHS Mortgage, Inc., located in Burnsville and Anderson Gabriel Mortgage, Inc., located in Alexandria. It also alleges that the concealed payments were diverted to buyers of real properties (either Beaumia or a relative) through the use of fraudulent underwriting and closing documentation.
Beaumia allegedly caused fraudulent loan application documentation to be provided to potential lenders for purposes of loan underwriting. This fraudulent documentation misrepresented the true terms of the proposed transaction and, in some instances, the identity of the mortgage broker, and it falsely overstated the true purchase price to be paid by the buyer for a property and concealed payments that were to be made from the loan proceeds to the buyers and other individuals.
Based on the fraudulent documentation, the proposed loans were approved, totaling more than $2.2 million in loan proceeds.
After each loan was approved based on the fraudulent underwriting package allegedly provided by Beaumia, the lender disbursed loan proceeds to a title company. Beaumia then allegedly worked with a closing agent of the title company to execute the fraudulent scheme by disbursing the funds in a manner other than what was understood by the lender - namely the concealed payments. The closing agent also provided fraudulent settlement statements to the lender in an effort to conceal the scheme.
In at least 12 separate real estate transactions, either Beaumia or a relative of Beaumia acted as the buyer of the properties. Through these transactions, Beaumia allegedly secured approximately $430,000 in concealed payments.
For the purpose of executing the scheme, the indictment alleges that Beaumia knowingly caused 10 wire transfers of loan proceeds. The indictment also alleges that on Oct. 17, 2005, Beaumia signed over an $18,000 cashier's check as partial payment for a Wild West Dragon motorcycle using proceeds derived from his scheme.
If convicted, Beaumia faces a potential maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the wire fraud counts and 10 years in prison on the money laundering count. All sentences are determined by a federal district court judge.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tracy L. Perzel.
mortgage fraud
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
F. Jeffrey Miller Update - October 20, 2009
A hearing was held in Topeka, Kansas in front of Judge Julie Robinson. Miller is currently being held pending his sentencing which is set for December 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.. Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin, Miller's codefendants, will be sentenced at that time also.
Several motions were heard this week. One was a motion for Miller to be released pending his sentencing. Miller's attorney, Jeff Morris, argued that the court had dismmissed with predjudice the matter involving Miller's purchase of a commercial lawnmower, violating the court ordered monitoring agreement. He also argued that Miller was not a flight risk and should be released. This motion was denied.
Another motion heard by Judge Robinson was that of an escrow account containing proceeds from the sale of Miller's forfeited assets. This account has a balance of $143,000. Attorney Morris argued that his firm was due $100,000 for work done in the Miller matter, to date. The government argued that his 'un-itemized fees' were 'exhorbitant'. The balance of the funds, Morris argued, should be released to the Miller family to help pay for mounting household expenses.
The government argued that the 'Asset Forfeiture Provision' applies down to 'the last penny' and that 'the rights of the victims to made whole are of paramount immportance' and that no routine household expenses like Visa bills, are allowed.
Attorney Morris argues that there is more than enough assets to satisfy the jury's judgement of $2.65 million dollars. The government argues that the estimated value of his assets are only $1.4 million.
The government also stated that Miller has been paid dividends from a company Miller has an ownership interest in; Boreflex. From July, 2008 to present, Miller has been paid $330,509.30 from Boreflex, unbeknownst to the court appointed monitor.
Present in the courtroom was Todd Earnshaw. Earnshaw was indicted along with Miller and others in what is commonly referred to as 'Miller I'. That trial is scheduled to begin on January 11, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
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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 
