Mortgage Fraud Blog is the premier website for news and information on mortgage fraud and real estate fraud throughout the United States.
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 Smith Dollar, PC, is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. Email Ms. Dollar
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Christopher A. Upchurch, 33, a Nampa, Idaho contractor and Barbara L. Cobos, 36, a loan officer at Zions First National Bank, Eagle, Idaho, made their initial appearances in federal court in Boise, Idaho after being indicted, along with Nicholas R. Gossi, 26, Nicholas R. Coats, 29, and Max Reich, 32, who are also charged in the scheme to use straw borrowers to get construction loans. Trial was set for July 22, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise. The scheme is alleged to have defrauded the bank of approximately $20 million.
As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, Upchurch did residential construction under the name of Inline Construction, LLC. Cobos is alleged to have received approximately $125,000 in kickbacks from Upchurch in order to assure funding of fraudulent loan applications.
Gossi worked first for a bank and later as a mortgage broker, and is alleged to have received “finder fees” from Upchurch to locate people willing to have their identities used to obtain the fraudulent loans.
Coats was a real estate agent, and is alleged to have recieved approximately $49,500 in finder fees for locating straw buyers. Reich is alleged to have received approximately $67,900 in finder fees for similar work.
The scheme is alleged to have begun in October 2004 and lasted until November 2005. Once straw buyers were located, their information was used as the borrower’s on residential construction loan applications. In many cases, it is charged, the loan applications overstated the “borrower’s” income and credit, and falsely said that they were planning to build “owneroccupied” homes. Upchurch and others are also alleged to have forged the “borrowers” names on loan documents.
According to the indictment, the 49 fraudulent applications would have totaled approximately $20 millions, had they all been drawn down in full. The applications were not reviewed or approved by supervisory officials at Zions Bank.
Once the fraudulent loans were approved, Upchurch had the straw borrowers sign blank draw requests, so that he could draw on the loans at any time. The indictment alleges that he then filled out the draw requests for specific construction purposes, but diverted a substantial amount of the loan proceeds for his own personal benefit.
“Mortgage fraud in all its forms is a significant investigative priority of the FBI due to the staggering impact it has had on the U.S. economy,” said Timothy J. Fuhrman, Special Agent in Charge, Salt Lake City. “The FBI will devote the necessary resources to bring its perpetrators to justice. In this particular case, which exemplifies the types of mortgage fraud practices engaged in by individuals associated with the mortgage business, the FBI worked with partners in the law enforcement community to ascertain the extent of the fraud perpetrated by these individuals. The FBI will continue to conduct these types of investigations with our law enforcement partners and with the support of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho. We applaud their prosecutive efforts in this case and appreciate their support of the FBI.”
There is a person who has posted a video of you on YouTube with the intention I think to cause you harm. Maybe to try & incite someone other than himself to harm you some way. He posted comments that you exposed him or his crime or something to that effect & that he wants you to remove him from your website.
Maybe the police should be contacted?
Search the following title & look at the comments.
“Rachel Dollar gives away under pants”
Posted by on 06/01 at 06:20 PM
Sorry. It’s the soul’s duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion.
I am from Vanuatu and learning to speak English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: “One of the able unbadged plots of the legendary money, robert girardi begins a character sculpture of the comic with a then european chaos for the oncoming.”
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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The information and notices contained on Mortgage Fraud Blog are intended to summarize recent developments in mortgage fraud cases and mortgage banking matters nationwide. The posts on this site are presented as general research and information and are expressly not intended, and should not be regarded, as legal advice. Much of the information on this site concerns allegations made in civil lawsuits and in criminal indictments. All persons are presumed innocent until convicted of a crime. Readers who have particular questions about mortgage banking, mortgage fraud matters or who believe they require legal counsel should seek the advice of an attorney. The creators, editors and sponsors of Mortgage Fraud Blog do not intend to create a confidential relationship or an attorney-client relationship by communication via or arising from this site.
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 
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