Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Florida Man Sentenced for Role in $30 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Ronald Luczak, 37, Cape Coral, Florida, has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for his role in a large mortgage fraud scheme. Luczak must also pay approximately $5.9 million in restitution to his victims. He had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges on September 10, 2008.

According to court documents, and as previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog, between September 2005 and December 2006, Luczak and his company, Cape Coral Equity and Development (CCEDG), obtained more than $30 million worth of mortgages on at least 37 Cape Coral properties. Despite that CCEDG was responsible for making the mortgage payments, CCEDG recruited 33 "straw buyers" and reported on the mortgage applications that the straw buyers were purchasing the properties. CCEDG also falsely inflated the properties' values, fraudulently reported the purported buyers' incomes, provided false schedules of real estate and assets supposedly owned by the buyers, falsely reported the buyers' occupations and employment, and falsely stated that the buyers intended to use the properties for their primary residences. Luczak paid the straw buyers' mortgage obligations with other straw buyers' mortgage proceeds in a Ponzi-type arrangement.

Luczak and CCEDG personally received more than $5.8 million from the scheme.

Luczak's wife, Lisa Luczak and Sandra Mainardi, a New Jersey loan processor, previously were sentenced to 46 months each for their part in the scheme.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haas.

mortgage fraud

1. A few less “Professionals” to destroy the world economy.

   Posted by  on  06/30  at  01:18 PM

2. Where else but in America can you steal $30million dollars and get 46 months in prison and only pay $5.9M to the victims?  The US real estate market is full of fraudsters, con artists and swindlers.  Each new case reported is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of the true reality of the dilemna. A few less ‘professionals’ such as these is what this world needs most.  Bank robbers who get away with almost nothing ,in comparison, receive sentences much heavier than mortgage fraudsters. This story is not 3 or 4 people stealing $30M. Every facet of the process is corrupt and organized in perpetrating real estate fraud. So, there are many other key players in the scheme who are not charged or reported on. Banks obviously do not read the contracts they are submitted or they are just as guilty as the rest of them.  The USA is a SCAM.

   Posted by  on  06/30  at  07:51 PM

3. Fred, Fred, Fred.  Did you just fall off the turnip truck?  Do you have any clue at all of how our system here in the USA compares with the pervasive corruption throughout virtually every European, Asian, Russian, South and Latin-American, and African nation?  the worst of our greed and graft are laughably minor by comparison.  It’s the nature of the human species, fear, greed, and envy are the fabric of all societies, so get over it.  Do-gooders can never make more than a dent in the lesser nature of man; not that they shouldn’t try, but in the end, it’s up to the individual to be responsible for themselves, which means to read the fine print.  the only surprise here is that the banks and lenders themselves aren’t also indicted as willing co-conspiritors rather than being treated as though they somehow “didn’t know” and were (oh no!) decieved.  JMO-YMMV

   Posted by  on  07/10  at  01:11 PM