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.
Erie Area Mortgage Broker Gets Prison in Fraud Case
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Shortly before receiving a nearly three-year federal prison sentence, former mortgage office manager Francis R. Conti told the judge he never meant to defraud any of the homeowners caught up in a widespread local mortgage-fraud scheme.
Three Former Portland-Area Mortgage Brokers Face Fraud Charges
OregonLive.com - Portland, OR
Joel D. Surprenant, Michael Duc Han and Benjamin Lucian Lucescu all were charged with one count of obtaining mortgage loans through materially false and fraudulent pretenses.
Shaker Pair Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Charges
Cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH
Two Shaker Heights residents recently pleaded guilty to charges involving a mortgage scheme with seven area houses and $3 million in fraudulent loans.
Feds File Charges in Five Mortgage Fraud Cases
Chicago Breaking News - Tribune - Chicago, IL
Federal charges were filed today against 37 people and four companies in five separate mortgage fraud cases.
Feds Fighting Back
Contra Costa Times - Walnut Creek, CA
Mortgage fraud has increased so dramatically in the San Joaquin Valley that a task force of federal, state and local agencies has been formed to fight back.
Private Investigator Sees Rise in Mortgage Fraud Due to Economy
PR Web - Ferndale, WA
In the past 12 months his firm has been retained to conduct over 300 mortgage fraud investigations, a 100% increase from 2007.
Former UGA, NFL Football Player Arthur Marshall Charged With Mortgage Fraud Claims
WJBF-TV - Augusta, GA
He is also accused of defrauding three banks in obtaining loans for seven different properties in Columbia and Richmond Counties.
Cuomo Subpoenas Loan Modification Companies
New York Times - United States
“The entire industry is a scam, in my opinion,” Mr. Cuomo said Tuesday. “These are services that homeowners don’t need to pay for in the first place.”
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Relating to Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Imperial Valley News - Holtville, CA
Scavitti admitted that between 2003 and August 2008 he unlawfully diverted mortgage funds that were wire transferred into his client office account to his own personal benefit, resulting in losses in excess of $2.5 million.
Fed Drug Report: Double Trouble for Metro Chicago
ABC7Chicago.com - IL
...Chicago street gang members run a network of legitimate businesses and have engineered mortgage fraud schemes, both to launder drug proceeds...
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
Update - US v. F. Jeffrey Miller, et al.
Miller II: Judge Julie Robinson has ruled in favor of the defense motion granting a continuance for sentencing of the 3 convicted defendants: F. Jeffrey Miller, Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin. The three will now be sentenced after ruling on post trial motions set for August 10, 2009.
Vanatta has been in custody for over 2 years. Vanetta filed a motion for his release pending sentencing. That motion was denied.
Miller remains free pending his sentencing. He has hired a new attorney who filed a motion to delay Miller's sentencing. In one post trial motion, the defense argues as to what assets are subject to seizure.
Defendant Todd Earnshaw is a Kansas City real estate Broker (and brother in law of Miller). Earnshaw has been indicted in what is commonly referred to as Miller I. A trial date for that matter has been set for January, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
The Government filed a motion to revoke Earnshaw's bond and remand him to custody while he awaits trial after learning that he allegedly committed the state crimes of Driving Under the Influence, Handicap Parking Violation and Failure to Control Speed to Avoid a Collision while on pretrial release. Notwithstanding finding that probable cause existed to believe that Earnshaw committed the aforementioned state crimes, Judge Robinson denied the motion, but ordered several strict conditions that Earnshaw must follow pending his trial.
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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. 
