Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Five Enter Guilty Pleas in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Rafael Santiago and Angel Armendariz pled guilty in federal court in San Diego to conspiring to commit wire fraud. On November 13, 2008, co-defendants Abner Betech, Said Betech, and Aviva Betech pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud as well. These five individuals entered their guilty pleas before United States District Judge Thomas J. Whelan.
According to court documents, Rafael Santiago, Abner Betech, Said Betech, Aviva Betech, and Angel Armendariz admitted to devising a plan to defraud and to obtain money and property by false and fraudulent means, related to mortgage fraud. In 2005, Abner Betech, Said Betech and others founded Creative Financial Solutions, Inc. (“CFS”), a mortgage brokering company formerly located at 707 Broadway Avenue, Suite 1720, San Diego. CFS was in the business of sending loan application packages and other documents to lenders for review and funding. CFS did not fund loans but received commissions from the lenders when the loans closed. The five individuals were loan officers at CFS; in addition to the commissions, they often received kickback payments when loans closed.
These five individuals admitted that CFS obtained mortgage loans for unqualified borrowers by, among other things, submitting false loan applications, false bank statements, and false income documentation. In total, the victim lenders funded more than $16 million in loans on properties that have been foreclosed or are in the foreclosure process. These fraudulent loans resulted in actual losses to the victim lenders including the following: unrecovered loan proceeds, unpaid mortgage payments, the costs of recovering the properties through foreclosure, the costs of maintaining the recovered properties, and the costs of selling the properties after they had been foreclosed.
The sentencing for Rafael Santiago, Abner Betech, Said Betech, and Aviva Betech is scheduled for April 13, 2009, and sentencing for Angel Armendariz is scheduled for April 20, 2009. A sixth defendant, Lucette Montane, remains at large.
mortgage fraud
Anyone know if these perp’s were legally present in the US? If they were, were they legally present as a result of the ‘84 amnesty?
Posted by on 11/25 at 01:48 PM
Anyone what the result of the sentencing was?
Posted by on 05/06 at 06:52 AM
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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...
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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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Rachel 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. 
