Friday, July 11, 2008
Guilty Plea In Vermont Mortgage Fraud Case
Richard Shumway, 51, Brewerton, New York, pleaded guilty on June 30, 2008 in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to a federal wire fraud charge. Chief U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III continued Shumway‘s release on conditions pending sentencing, which is set for November 3, 2008.
As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, on January 3, 2008, a federal grand jury in Burlington, Vermont, returned a two-count indictment charging Shumway with mail fraud and bank fraud. Both charges stem from the activities of TSC Funding, a South Burlington-based mortgage brokerage business Shumway owned and operated in the 1990s until 2005. According to the indictment, Shumway skimmed a total of nearly one million dollars from more than 200 loans he brokered by means of payments taken outside of closing, without the knowledge of the borrower. As part of the scheme, Shumway arranged for Gerald Mullaney, formerly a licensed real estate appraiser in the Albany, New York area, to prepare falsified appraisals for the homes the borrowers were purchasing. This enabled Shumway to induce the borrower to take out a larger loan than necessary to buy the home, and also enabled Shumway to divert some of the proceeds of each loan to his own benefit. Shumway misled borrowers into believing the extra fees were to be paid to the lending institution to obtain a lower interest rate. Shumway was aided in this scheme by Nazzara Bernardo of Syracuse, New York, the owner of the title company that processed the closing paperwork on each loan and served as escrow agent.
Shumway faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The actual sentence will be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.
Gerald Mullaney has already pled guilty to bank fraud and is awaiting sentencing. Bernardo has pled guilty to conspiracy and is also awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the Burlington, Vermont office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Shumway is represented by Paul Volk. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
mortgage fraud
Mortgage fraud is a big problem here in the UK, lots of big brokers have been fined for miss selling, falsifyinn income. Looks like the bubble has burst now.
Posted by on 07/14 at 04:08 AM
My wife and I purchused a new double wide a few years ago, We were told to sell our home, use it as a down payment ect, we tried to back out but we foolishly listen to salesmansay we can afford it and not to worry, it took almost a year for us to get approved and the whole thing was very suspicious, the loan was done through TSC funding and the owner Rick Schumway was convicted of fraud and stole over $8400.00 from us. Also the person who did our appraisal has been convicted as well, and I believe the man who did our closing. We cannot afford this house and we are in forecloser, if we only have this loan due to fraudulant activities can we get out of it? I don’t believe the bank was aware of this as they are not the original lender, what can happen from here being that Shumway and his pals frauded us and probably the bank as well?
Thanks,
Tom Seymour
Posted by on 09/30 at 03:56 AM
So, what the hell happened to the guy on November 3rd? No reports after that? Did the guy get away with it or what? Amazing!
Posted by on 12/09 at 03:55 AM
he will be sentenced now on Jan 29th.
Posted by on 01/26 at 01:24 PM
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Some Sources require Registration.
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Juan Carlos Alcala of Windsor pleaded no contest to nineteen felony counts and admitted three special allegations for defrauding real estate investors, money laundering and elder fraud.
Bedford Woman Sentenced to a Year in Prison for Mortgage Fraud
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Sharon Cox, 49, of Bedford, was sentenced today to a year in prison for mortgage fraud involving money laundering, theft and receiving stolen property from August 2008 through March.
CITIZEN JOURNALISM: Mortgage Fraud High in Area
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According to the FBI, Virginia, Maryland and the District are among the top 10 jurisdictions experiencing mortgage fraud.
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
F. Jeffrey Miller Update - October 20, 2009
A hearing was held in Topeka, Kansas in front of Judge Julie Robinson. Miller is currently being held pending his sentencing which is set for December 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.. Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin, Miller's codefendants, will be sentenced at that time also.
Several motions were heard this week. One was a motion for Miller to be released pending his sentencing. Miller's attorney, Jeff Morris, argued that the court had dismmissed with predjudice the matter involving Miller's purchase of a commercial lawnmower, violating the court ordered monitoring agreement. He also argued that Miller was not a flight risk and should be released. This motion was denied.
Another motion heard by Judge Robinson was that of an escrow account containing proceeds from the sale of Miller's forfeited assets. This account has a balance of $143,000. Attorney Morris argued that his firm was due $100,000 for work done in the Miller matter, to date. The government argued that his 'un-itemized fees' were 'exhorbitant'. The balance of the funds, Morris argued, should be released to the Miller family to help pay for mounting household expenses.
The government argued that the 'Asset Forfeiture Provision' applies down to 'the last penny' and that 'the rights of the victims to made whole are of paramount immportance' and that no routine household expenses like Visa bills, are allowed.
Attorney Morris argues that there is more than enough assets to satisfy the jury's judgement of $2.65 million dollars. The government argues that the estimated value of his assets are only $1.4 million.
The government also stated that Miller has been paid dividends from a company Miller has an ownership interest in; Boreflex. From July, 2008 to present, Miller has been paid $330,509.30 from Boreflex, unbeknownst to the court appointed monitor.
Present in the courtroom was Todd Earnshaw. Earnshaw was indicted along with Miller and others in what is commonly referred to as 'Miller I'. That trial is scheduled to begin on January 11, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
More Trial Coverage
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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 
