Thursday, October 22, 2009

Man Admits to Theft of More Than $400,000 from Lenders

Micah John Beaumia, 29, Alexandria, Minnesota, has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering for to concealing more than $400,000 in payments to himself and others from mortgage loan proceeds. He entered his plea in Minneapolis before United States District Court Judge James Rosenbaum. As previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog, Beaumia was indicted on May 11, 2009.

In his plea agreement, Beaumia admitted devising a scheme concealing payments from mortgage loan proceeds by diverting them to himself and another buyer of real properties through the use of fraudulent underwriting and closing documentation. Beaumia executed this scheme from 2005 through 2006 through his involvement with LHS Mortgage, Inc., located in Burnsville and a second Minnesota mortgage company, Anderson Gabriel Mortgage, Inc., located in Alexandria. Beaumia acted as a mortgage broker and caused fraudulent loan application documents to be provided to potential lenders. These applications falsely overstated the true purchase price of the properties, concealed payments from the loan proceeds to Beaumia and a relative, and, in some instances, misrepresented the identity of the mortgage broker. Based on the fraudulent documentation, the proposed loans totaling more than $2.2 million were approved for 13 Minnesota properties.

After each loan was approved, the lender wire transferred funds to a Minnesota-based title company. For example, $81,460.05 was wired on October 7, 2005, from New Century Mortgage Corp. to First Advantage Title. Beaumia then worked with a closing agent at First Advantage to conceal the payments.

That closing agent was Jill M. Lehn, 41, Prior Lake. As previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog, Lehn was sentenced to two years in prison in January 2008 on one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with a mortgage loan pay-out scheme. According to Beaumia's plea agreement, Lehn also provided false settlement statements to conceal the scheme from lenders.

Beaumia's concealed payments included an $18,000 check that on October 17, 2005, he endorsed over to Lucky's Garage as partial payment for a Wild West Dragon motorcycle.

Beaumia faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison on the money laundering count. Judge Rosenbaum will determine his sentence at a future date.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Perzel.

mortgage fraud

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Today's News

Some Sources require Registration.   Marco Island Man Arrested in Ohio on Grand Theft Charge Naples News A man who claimed he was a broker is accused of bilking a long-time family friend out of more than $130,000. 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. Previous Articles

TRIAL COVERAGE

Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty. Follow Anne on Twitter. Thursday, February 18, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial - 1 Convicted, 3 Acquitted The jury deliberated for approximately 3 days after receiving their jury instructions. They asked one question: Does ‘common sense' allow us to deduce what the banks may or may not been influenced by in order to make a loan? Judge Julie Robinson responded by admonishing the jurors to read all of the instructions. The jury presented its' verdict... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... More Trial Coverage

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