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
Mortgage Fraud Blog is co-sponsored by Interthinx the leading provider of fraud services and solutions for the mortgage industry.
Inflated Appraisals And Kickbacks Lead To Indictments
Fred DeGuzman and Veronica DeGuzman, formerly of San Antonio, Texas are charged with carrying out a mortgage fraud scheme involving three San Antonio and Spring Branch, Texas residential properties, three financial institutions and over $1,000,000 in foreseeable losses. The indictment charges the DeGuzmans with three counts of financial institution fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, from June 25, 2007, to November 5, 2007, Fred DeGuzman, using an alias, and Veronica DeGuzman would contact individual sellers of residential property and enter agreements to purchase the property for an inflated price, with the excess of the stated price over the actual sales price being returned to a corporation owned and controlled by Fred and Veronica DeGuzman. Using the alias, as well as falsified employment and income information, Fred and Veronica DeGuzman applied for and obtained 100% financing. After one or two mortgage payments, the mortgage went into default causing losses to the lenders.
Upon conviction, each defendant faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a maximum $1 million fine plus restitution for each of the financial institution fraud charges, plus up to 2 years and a $250,000 fine for each of the aggravated identity theft counts which must be served in addition to any imprisonment for financial institution fraud.
Nadjah Elias-Caudill, David Barr and Kent Lake, two San Antonio area home builders and a former Boerne, Texas, resident are charged with carrying out a mortgage fraud scheme involving six Boerne, Texas residential properties, six lending institutions and over $3 million in foreseeable losses.
The seven-count indictment charges Nadjah Elias-Caudill along with homebuilders David Barr and Kent Lake with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud plus six substantive wire fraud counts.
The indictment alleges that from February 2006 until March 27, 2007, Elias-Caudill caused Barr and Lake, doing business as Barr/Principle Builders, to enter into contracts for the sales of six homes for an agreed-upon, inflated price. Those contracts included an estimated $460,000 in kickbacks which ultimately benefitted Elias-Caudill. Elias-Caudill then used the names and personal identifiers (dates of birth and Social Security Numbers) of her sister-in-law, brother, and father of a former employee, as well as falsified employment and income information to apply for and obtain 100% financing. After one or two mortgage payments, the mortgage went into default causing losses to the lenders.
Upon conviction, each defendant faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine per count plus restitution.
“Mortgage fraud damages the stability of our national housing market and hurts American homeowners. We intend to prosecute it aggressively,” stated United States Attorney Johnny Sutton.
These cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of a nationwide crackdown on mortgage fraud called Operation Malicious Mortgage. Assistant United States Attorney William R. Harris is prosecuting these cases on behalf of the government.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
This indictment of criminal conduct by the Feds is still another example of the fraudalant misuse of our taxpayers dollars. By now everybody knows that local players, which included builders, loan originators, mortgage brokers, and the such, were all puns for large lenders and Wall Street investors who made billions of dollars! They didn’t care how or where the loans came from----just get them to us. All over America, many did just that. It was too easy___no doc, limited doc, stated income, stated savings, write whatever was needed in the space---the lenders’ underwriters didn’t check or cared. Everybody was approved!! The Feds know that the major lenders contributed to this mess, yet they continue to beat their chest about the number of investigations and arrest of the small “street level” players. Shame on them. On the other hand, I think that the Feds have done a wonderful job of exposing the loopholes and shuting the abusive lending practices down. If they are not going to prosecute the major players, why not JUST MOVE ON? I believe that the healing process for our national economy would begin overnight!!!!
Posted by on 07/09 at 05:10 PM
What I find bizarre is that they would be so stupid to even try this. Kickbacks are explictly illegal in Texas. I imagine they indicited individuals could possibly have been victims of identity theft themselves are were indicted from the evidence, not because of actual witnesses.
Also, the reference to M.C. makes me wonder if this Nadjah woman might have been married to Michael Cox (!). That would be some news, especially for the single mothers Michael used in his frauds.
Posted by on 07/13 at 08:31 AM
i know what mc stands for..it isnt micheal cox..but i dont see the referance your are talking about
Posted by on 07/13 at 06:20 PM
To avoid any sort of mortgage frauds or catch you should always clear all your doubts with the money lenders, <a > Allen Home loans </a> helped mw big time.
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...
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.
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 
mortgage fraud
