Wednesday, April 23, 2008
5 Sentenced To Federal Prison For Mortgage Fraud
Virginia Rose Novrit, 67, Hilton Head, South Carolina, Clarence Lorenzo Davis, 68, Hilton Head, South Carolina, Gregory Jerome Wings, Jr., 25, Atlanta, Georgia, Olympia D. Ammons, 31, St. Louis, Missouri, and Ronald Denzil Martin, Jr., 37, Lithonia, Georgia, were sentenced on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering related to a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: From late 2004 through early 2006, Novrit, Davis, Wings, Ammons, and Martin participated in a mortgage fraud scheme that involved millions of dollars in fraudulently inflated mortgage loans being provided to unqualified straw borrowers. The straw borrowers were paid as much as $600,000 per property from fraudulently obtained loan proceeds through shell companies. Novrit and Davis together obtained mortgage loans totaling more than $4 million within a six month period to purchase eight properties. Wings obtained mortgage loans totaling over $1.2 million to purchase a single property by providing the lender with false qualifying information. Wings also recruited a number of other unqualified buyers into the scheme and obtained a share of the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds from those transactions for doing so. Ammons was a loan originator for Ace Mortgage Funding, a national mortgage brokerage firm. Ammons brokered fraudulent mortgages totalling over $7 million. Martin was paid $75,000 to act as a straw buyer and submit a fraudulent loan application for one property.
United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “These defendants and their co-defendants are responsible for causing millions of dollars in losses to mortgage lenders by artificially inflating the sales prices on million dollar homes and submitting fraudulent loan applications to fund the purchases of these homes. In cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement agents, we will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud schemes in the metro Atlanta area.”
Novrit was sentenced to 3 years, 5 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $839,585 in restitution. Novrit was convicted by a jury on November 26, 2007, after a three week trial.
Davis was sentenced to 4 years, 3 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $839,585 in restitution. Davis was convicted by the same jury on November 26, 2007.
Wings was sentenced to 10 years, 2 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $8,577,845 in restitution. Wings pleaded guilty on September 7, 2007.
Ammons was sentenced to 5 years, 3 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $7,549,044 in restitution. Ammons pleaded guilty on October 2, 2006.
Martin was sentenced to 1 year, 1 day in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $423,595 in restitution. Martin pleaded guilty on May 16, 2007.
Four other defendants have already been sentenced to prison terms in related cases, and five more defendants await sentencing.
mortgage fraud
Dang, over 10 years for G Money....
Posted by on 04/27 at 10:04 PM
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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. 
