Monday, May 19, 2008
Elaborate Mortgage Fraud Scheme Conspirators Indicted
According to the grand jury indictment, a network of people conspired to bilk millions from Zions Bank through an elaborate mortgage scheme beginning in March of 2005. According to the Indictment, five players were involved:
- Christopher Upchurch, a general contractor who owned Inline Construction.
- Barbara Cobos, a loan officer with Zions Bank.
- Nicholas Coats, a real estate agent.
- Max Reich, whose profession is not listed.
- Nicholas Gossi, a loan officer at Best Mortgage Company.
The scheme, allegedly, worked like this:
Upchurch—the supposed ringleader—got help securing fraudulent residential construction loans from bank employee Cobos. In turn, she allegedly got $125,000 in kickbacks.
Meanwhile, Coats, Reich and Gossi are accused of getting finder fees from Upchurch for locating straw borrowers.
Court documents say Upchurch racked up $20 million in loans from Zions Bank, under the guise of building 49 new homes.
According to the grand jury, the straw borrowers used to obtain that money were never told they could be liable for paying it back.
In the end, Zions was able to recover much of the money earmarked for the fraudulent loans, but still lost more than a million dollars.
Meanwhile, those named in the indictment face the following charges:
Among other things, Upchurch and Cobos are charged with bank fraud.
Coats and Reich are charged with theft from a financial institution, but the amount listed is less than a thousand dollars each.
Gossi is charged with bank fraud and mail fraud.
mortgage fraud
The other builders that Cobos used her scheme on need to come forward. Everyone involved is a victim of Cobos. Her husband has coached her on what needs to be said. He is a DETECTIVE. Help these people being charged unfairly. People coming forward is the only way, even if it is anomymously.
Posted by on 05/19 at 04:53 PM
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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 
