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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- Mortgage Fraud Scheme Leads to 83 Count Indictment
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- Former Mortgage Broker Pleads Guilty in $1.6 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Guilty Plea In Scheme to Defraud Long Beach Mtg

William T. Bridge, 41, San Francisco, California entered a guilty plea before United States District Court Judge William B. Shubb in connection with a widespread mortgage fraud scheme centered in the Stockton, California area. Bridge pleaded guilty today to one count of filing a false tax return and three counts of paying illegal kickbacks to a loan coordinator at Long Beach Mortgage, a former subsidiary of Washington Mutual, Inc., in connection with the funding of subprime mortgages in the Sacramento and Stockton, California areas between 2003 and 2006. Bridge also admitted that in each of the tax years 2003 through 2006 he derived more than $10,000 from criminal activity involving fraudulent loans funded by Long Beach Mortgage.

According to the indictment, and Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin B. Wagner and Courtney J. Linn, who are prosecuting the case, Bridge admitted that in each of the tax years ending 2003, 2004, and 2005 he grossly under-reported his income from his mortgage business. For the tax year ending December 31, 2003, he reported gross receipts of $955,990 when in fact he received approximately $2,438,823. For the tax year ending December 31, 2004, he reported gross receipts of $630,070 when in fact he received $1,940,208. For tax year 2005, he reported gross receipts of $747,628 when in fact he received approximately $1,503,033. He caused a 2006 tax return to be prepared with the intent to inflict further tax losses, but did not file it. The total tax loss to the United States for tax years 2003 through 2006 exceeds $1,000,000, which sum Bridge agrees to pay as restitution.

Bridge also pleaded guilty to paying illegal kickbacks to a loan coordinator at Long Beach Mortgage in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA). In connection with loans made by Long Beach Mortgage, which were secured by residential real property in the Sacramento and Stockton areas, Bridge paid a loan coordinator working for Long Beach Mortgage more than $120,000 between July 2003 and March 2007. The payments were made as part of an informal agreement between Bridge and the loan coordinator in which the loan coordinator would use his position at Long Beach Mortgage to facilitate the processing or fraudulent mortgage loan applications on behalf of Bridge.

“Today’s conviction illustrates federal law enforcement’s strong response to the mortgage fraud problem that helped fuel the subprime lending crisis in this and other regions of the country,” said U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott. “This office, with the aid of the FBI, IRS, and other state and federal law enforcement agencies, intends to use every appropriate tool, including criminal tax charges, to bring those responsible to justice.”

Bridge is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Shubb on September 2, 2008, at 8:30 a.m. The maximum penalty for the tax offense is three years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, or both. The maximum penalty for each of the illegal kickback violations is 12 months in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. However, the actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables, and any applicable statutory sentencing factors.

The case is the product of an extensive investigation conducted by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). The investigation is continuing.

   

Posted by Staff Reporter on 06/17/08 at 05:19 AM
Mortgage FraudCalifornia • Total comments: (1) (0) Trackbacks
  1. I was an underwriter at Long Beach during that time and withstood constant badgering from these filthly brokers.  Glad to see that one was caught, drawn and quartered, along with one of the greedy employees...I only worked there six months, the filth was too much for me to bear.  I went back to prime, but of course that wasn’t much better due to the other greedy individuals.

    Posted by  on  06/18  at  05:32 PM

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mortgage fraud news



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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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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