Friday, September 26, 2008

Brothers Plead Guilty to Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud Conspiracy

Mohammed Rababeh, 29, Vienna, Virginia, and Ahmed Rababeh, 31, Haymarket, Virginia, pled guilty today to conspiring to commit bank fraud in connection with several real estate mortgage loans they and their co-conspirators obtained between April 2004 and September 2006.  Sentencing for both Mohammed and Ahmed Rababeh has been set for November 28, 2008 before United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

According to court records, the two men conspired with Randolph Baltimore, 50, Leesburg, Virginia, to submit fraudulent loan applications overstating Baltimore‘s income and omitting his liabilities, so that Baltimore could purchase properties Mohammed and Ahmed Rababeh wanted to sell. The two men agreed to pay Baltimore $27,500 to serve as the buyer on four such properties. Mohammed and Ahmed Rababeh engaged in similar fraudulent schemes to obtain loans to buy properties in their own names. Mohammad Rababeh obtained more than $2 million in such loans, and the losses to the lenders could be as much as $1 million.

Baltimore pled guilty to the conspiracy on June 24, 2008, and will be sentenced by Judge Hilton on September 26, 2008.

The cases were investigated the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys James P. Gillis and Aaron M. Zebley are prosecuting these cases on behalf of the United States.

mortgage fraud

1. When reviewing large samples of fraudulent EPD loans, one common denominators frequently revealed is a disproportionate number of borrowers of middle eastern decent. This being the case, lenders need to take it upon themselves to scrutinize any requested mortgage that has people of middle eastern decent involved in the transaction in anyway.

   Posted by  on  09/26  at  08:47 AM

2. Do you know if this new rescue bill includes any provisions to fight mortgage fraud? If so what are they?

   Chad C.

   Posted by  on  09/28  at  07:18 PM

3. Mortgage fraud has been rampant in the u.s. for the last few years because of all the easy lending guidelines.

   Posted by  on  09/28  at  07:21 PM

4. The bail out has no provisions what so ever that are aimed at preventing a repeat of the bad loan fiasco. Specically to your question, there are no provisions to address loan level mortgage fraud. Stated income loans still okay, no requirements for borrower’s income statements to be validated with the IRS, no requirements that mortgage applications be underwritten prior to funding, no requirements to improve appraisal/colateral valuation process, no requirements to prohibit convicted criminals from participating in mortgage origination, no requirements to beef up anti ID theft efforts, no requirements to improve notary integrity, etc, etc, etc. There are a bunch of provisions to reduce foreclosures and requirements to offer alternatives to foreclosure WITHOUT precluding those who obtained their mortgages fraudulently!  The bail-out plan is such a waste as it will not resolve the underlying issue at hand. I only wish i could say it was joke.

   Posted by  on  09/28  at  10:11 PM

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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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All Foreclosure Information and Resources Housing Storm Calculated Risk Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter Home Gain Blog Rain City Guide Real Estate Tomato Blood Hound Blog Appraiser Active Fraud, Phishing and Financial Misdeeds The Collar - US News and World Report Georgia Bankruptcy Blog Fighting Fraud Newsday Real LI Matrix