Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Broward County Title Agent Convicted on Fraud Charges
Howard Gaines, an attorney and licensed title agent, has been convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. Trial on this matter began on Monday, November 17, 2008, before United States District Judge William Dimitrouleas.
At sentencing, Gaines faces a maximum of up to five years’ imprisonment on the conspiracy count and up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each mail fraud count. Sentencing is scheduled for February 10, 2009 at 1:15 p.m. Gaines was remanded into custody by the court following the verdict.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Gaines was a licensed title agent at Your Title Choice, Inc, in Deerfield Beach. Gaines, as a title agent, aided co-conspirator Anthony Dehaney and others to close on fraudulent loans. Among the fraudulent documents presented at closings were HUD 1 Settlement Forms, which falsely represented that buyers were using their own money to close on the purchases. The evidence showed that Gaines helped Dehaney close more than $10,000,000 in loans during 2004, 2005, and 2006, including $5,000,000 in fraudulent mortgages.
As previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog, there were 7 who were originally arrested and Gaines’ conviction was the sixth conviction in this matter, following five guilty pleas by other conspirators in the case:
Anthony Dehaney pled guilty nn October 21, 2008
Marcia Mestre pled guilty on September 3, 2008
Angela Manalaysay pled guilty on September 3, 2008
Beverly Ireland pled guilty October 30, 2008
Donna Patricia Grant pled guilty November 13, 2008
The 7th defendant, Andrea Dehaney, is still pending trial.
mortgage fraud
12/9/08
FYI,
I must inform you that Mr. Otilio Jimenez –Wachovia Mortgage Loan Owner- of 860 South Wind Circle of Sunrise, Florida is allegedly intended to initiate default actions on his agreement obligations with Wachovia.
All these actions are acknowledged to be carried by Mr. Jimenez on a voluntary basis and with no existing hardship of any sort.
This notification alert will be forwarded to the Attorney General of Florida, U.S District Attorney Office and to Broward County Appraisal Office for Consumer Protection and Crime and Fraud Affairs.
Anonymous Neighbor
(potential aggravated party of the above mentioned actions)
Posted by on 12/09 at 05:53 AM
PLEASE PROCEED TO REMOVE ABOVE MESSAGE ON BOARD ASAP. AS IT MUST REMAIN TOTALLY ANONYMOUS. (IT WAS INTENDED TO SOLELY REACH MS. DOLLAR)
Posted by on 12/10 at 06:28 AM
were you at the trial? because there was no evidence that Mr. Gaines did anything.
Posted by on 12/26 at 06:29 AM
I have been following the media surrounding this case as closely as I can. I believe that the amount of evidence regarding Gaines’ innocence or guilt remains to be seen (at least what has been made available to the public) so I would not be too quick to form an opinion about the outcome of this case just yet. Thanks.
Posted by on 04/17 at 06:33 AM
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Some Sources require Registration.
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Juan Carlos Alcala of Windsor pleaded no contest to nineteen felony counts and admitted three special allegations for defrauding real estate investors, money laundering and elder fraud.
Bedford Woman Sentenced to a Year in Prison for Mortgage Fraud
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Sharon Cox, 49, of Bedford, was sentenced today to a year in prison for mortgage fraud involving money laundering, theft and receiving stolen property from August 2008 through March.
CITIZEN JOURNALISM: Mortgage Fraud High in Area
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According to the FBI, Virginia, Maryland and the District are among the top 10 jurisdictions experiencing mortgage fraud.
Former Vegas Resident Charged with Mortgage Fraud in Nevada
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Previous Articles
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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.
More Trial Coverage
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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 
