imageRachel 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. Email Ms. Dollar

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Recent Posts

- Mortgage Fraud Scheme Leads to 83 Count Indictment
- Beazer Homes Settles Accusations of Mortgage and Accounting Fraud
- Closing Agent Indicted for Misappropriating Funds
- Falsified Loan Apps Lead to Criminal Charges
- 4 Indicted For Using Stolen Identities to Obtain Loans
- New Jersey Man Indicted for Mortgage Loan Misreps
- Florida Man Sentenced for Role in $30 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme
- Ohio Man Charged in Straw Borrower Scam
- Loan Mod Company Ordered to Cease & Desist
- Former Mortgage Broker Pleads Guilty in $1.6 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Monday, December 15, 2008

5 Charged In Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A fifteen count federal grand jury indictment in Cleveland, Ohio, has been unsealed against:

Paul A. Lesniak, 40, Strongsville, Ohio,

Uri Gofman, 36, Beachwood, Ohio,

Grennadiy Simkhovich, 51, Highland Heights, Ohio,

Dave Pirichy, 38, Burton, Ohio; and

Howard Sieferd, Jr., 57, Euclid, Ohio. 

The defendants are charged for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and eighteen counts of wire fraud against all defendants.

The indictment alleges that during the period from about August 2005 through September 2005, Paul A. Lesniak, Uri Gofman, Grennadiy Simkhovich, Dave Pirichy and Howard Sieferd, Jr. conspired to purchase eighteen properties in the Cleveland area for almost $2 million, of which thirteen properties for $1.2 million were all purchased on or about August 16, 2005. The indictment further alleges that as part of their conspiracy, defendant Paul A. Lesniak completed and submitted false and fraudulent loan applications with the assistance of defendant Dave Pirichy, a mortgage broker for Central National Mortgage, LLC, which falsified his employment, overstated his income, overstated his assets, falsified his intent to occupy the property and concealed the source of the down-payment funds, which were in fact provided by defendants Uri Gofman and Grennadiy Simkhovich through their company, Real Asset Fund, LLC, in order to obtain the financing to purchase the eighteen properties. The indictment alleges that defendant Howard Sieferd, Jr., a licensed title agent through the State of Ohio employed by Family Title Service, Inc., served as the title agent on the properties and conspired with defendants Uri Gofman and Grennadiy Simkhovich to allow the mortgage loan proceeds to be fraudulently and improperly distributed. The indictment alleges that the defendants did all of this in order to deceive and defraud Long Beach Mortgage Company, Argent Mortgage Company, LLC and Mortgage IT, Inc. into funding the mortgage loans.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, each defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Bennett, following an investigation by the Cleveland Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and in conjunction with the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

   

Posted by Staff Reporter on 12/15/08 at 01:21 AM
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Today's News

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...

Previous Articles

TRIAL COVERAGE

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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© Copyright 2004-2007 Rachel M. Dollar

Legal Disclaimer.
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.

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