Monday, April 17, 2006
Fifteen Indicted in Georgia Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Fifteen people were indicted in the Northern District of Georgia last week on charges that they participated in a complex mortgage fraud scheme. The indictment includes one count of conspiracy, 17 counts of bank loan fraud, 13 counts of wire fraud, 10 counts of mail fraud, 17 counts of bank fraud, 20 counts of money laundering and seeks forfeiture of criminally derived proceeds and property. Those indicted and there alleged roles were:
John Bello, straw buyer/borrower
David R. Bobo, appraiser
William Chavis, recruited straw borrowers for Reti Relocation Services, Inc.
Calvin D. Dalton, president of Reti Relocation Services, Inc.
Larry D. Frazier, real estate broker doing business as Larry Frazier Realty
John Hyacinth, recruited straw borrowers for Reti Relocation Services, Inc.
Paul Jaretsky, Jr, appraiser
Reginald Kemp, recruited straw borrowers for Reti Relocation Services, Inc.
Rhonda Kent, recruited straw borrowers for Reti Relocation Services, Inc.
George W. McRee, Jr, mortgage broker
Rashid Muhammad, recruited straw borrowers for Reti Relocation Services, Inc.
Martin Rosenthal, mortgage broker
James F. Stovall, III, attorney, partner in King Taylor & Stovall and principal of Stovall Legal Group LLC
Constance Zielins, straw buyer/borrower
Leonard Zielins, straw buyer/borrower
According to the indictment, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy where they would acquire residential properties and then arrange to sell the properties on the same day they were acquired or shortly thereafter. They would obtain fraudulently inflated appraisals and arrange for the purchase of the properties at inflated prices in the names of straw buyers, falsely representing that Reti Relocation Services, Inc. held title to the properties. They would prepare and submit – or pay or induce straw borrowers to sign and submit – documents containing false qualifying information to financial institutions and mortgage companies, including misrepresentations as to the borrowers’ intent to use the property, down payment and provision of funds to close. They would also enter into an agreement with the straw borrower providing that the straw borrower would not be responsible for any loan payments on the loan obtained in their name. Straw borrowers were paid to lend their names and credit to the transactions.
The loan payments were not made and the defendants would resell or attempt to resell properties to other unqualified straw borrowers when the payments were delinquent or foreclosure was imminent.
The scheme is alleged to have operated between April 2000 and June 2001.
The indictment details false statements and information for transactions concerning the following properties:
1510 Portmarnock Drive
5740 Preserve Circle
1029 Deer Hollow Drive
119 Kennemer Court
15410 Laurel Grove Drive
4692 Bishop Lake Road
15455 Laurel Grove Drive
300 Banyon Brook Point
535 Brightmore Downs
420 Crepe Myrtle Terrace
100 English Oak Court
360 Tree Lake Court
12425 Preserve Lane
2645 Francis Road
5825 Sunset Maple Drive
240 Holcombe Hill Lane
12373 Sunset Maple Terrace
605 Oak Farm Lane
647 Braidwood Drive
5655 Brookstone Drive
3005 Foxhall Overlook
1133 Fairwood Close
1373 Downington Lane
8460 Caney Creek Landing
6239 Braidwood Way
1588 Grandwood Trail
905 Fieldstone Way
1392 Downington View
5635 Forkwood Drive
5575 Brookgreen Drive
811 Hillcrest Lane
601 Villa Estate Lane
2015 Walnut Creek Crossing
820 Stonehaven Lane
6006 Fairlong Circle
630 Braidwood Drive
341 Ironhill Trace
622 Braidwood Pointe
5607 Forkwood Drive
1313 Benbrooke Lane
6209 Benbrooke Drive
1204 Benbrooke Court
5595 Forkwood Drive
8010 Royal Saint Georges Lane
6266 Benbrooke Way
5586 Forkwood Drive
5561 Brookgreen Drive
5580 Snowberry Drive
5607 Brookstone Drive
664 Transart Parkway
1050 Fairwood Run
1407 Coventry Court
5720 Brookstone Walk
6255 Braidwood Way
5809 Fairwood Walk
6303 Braidwood Overlook
457 Braidwood Walk
mortgage fraud
The Federal 15 just indicted for Mortgage Fraud are the tip of the iceberg. Consumers, in the main, have no idea that this type of thing goes on, but they can be radically affected by it if they buy a home in aa area rampant with flipping. It can have a terrible downside short-term effect on homeowners who are considering selling in that same area. Consumers need to be alert to unusually high transaction volume, vacant homes springing up, moving or rental trucks constantly in the residential area or an increasing number of rentals homes in an area. These could be signs of a flip neighborhood. Be sure to do your own indpenedent research before buying a home.
Posted by on 04/18 at 01:03 PM
anyone have a copy of the indictment? Jim Stovall is a well regarded lawyer in Atlanta so it would be interesting to see what these people got into
Posted by on 04/19 at 06:58 AM
The indictment is on Mortgage Fraud Blog and is linked to from the article.
Posted by
Rachel Dollar on 04/19 at 01:29 PM
Excellent work by our Federal Investigators. What a bunch of chicken shit rat bastards.
Nice write up, thanks
Posted by on 04/21 at 09:19 AM
I just cannot believe Jim Stovall would do anything illegal. Of course, with federal indictments that try them all together, I guess it doesn’t really matter if he’s innocent or guilty since a fraud seems to have occurred.
Posted by on 06/07 at 06:16 PM
I for one believe that it’s very possible to get caught up in something that you where not made aware of. I say this because this happened to my brother. He had just rec’d his appraisers license and we where all so proud of him. The work started pouring in and things looked good. His kids where proud! A phone call for more appraisals came in and my brother of course took the work, who wouldn’t? He did the appraisals 37 appraisals just like he did the other 150. All the same formulas on all of his appraisals. The way he was taught to do them. Several months later he was contacted that something was wrong and they where going after “The Big Guy” as a scheme was being uncovered. They took away my brothers appraisal license, hence NO WORK… Stripped of what he worked so hard for. Had to re-mortgage his home several times, to live, and ultimately had to file bankruptcy. All this without even being found guilty. Now several years later he is being told to plea bargain, after being Indited for Mortgage fraud. All this for answering a phone call asking him to do appraisals. Maybe the “BIG GUY” has a list of new appraisers and targets them. I don’t know that answer. I just know that as I sit here typing this I see a loving Father and Brother being torn to shreds, as well as his family. He faces a long battle against the courts to prove his innocence.
Can it be that YES he was just doing his job and was in NO WAY aware of what was taking place. He was NEVER paid a dime extra for these appraisals.
Well I can go on and on into great detail, but I will stop and PRAY that this all works out and that the “BIG GUY” who started this fraud will pay dearly for bringing my brother into this.
Think about it, this could be you or a family member being indited for a crime you did not commit. Before you make HARSH judgement you should know the facts.........
Lori Jaretsky
Posted by on 09/11 at 04:56 PM
How much time did these guys get?
Posted by on 01/11 at 11:35 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.
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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.
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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 
