Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Houston Man Indicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Lawrence Randall Benham, 41, Houston, Texas was indicted in connection with his alleged role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme allegedly executed in the Houston area of Texas since 2002.
Benham was charged with five (5) counts of wire fraud, two (2) counts of mail fraud, and one count each of bank fraud, and making a monetary transaction with criminally derived property. Wire fraud, mail fraud, or bank fraud, carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison upon conviction. The monetary transaction charge carries a maximum 10-year prison term upon conviction. Additionally, substantial fines and restitution to victims can be ordered as part of any sentence imposed following conviction.
The indictment alleges Benham devised a mortgage fraud scheme in which he located residential properties for sale, and persuaded and used others as nominee purchasers of the properties for his benefit. Using the nominee borrower’s credit and identifying information on loan applications, Benham is alleged to have exaggerated the nominee’s financial resources and ability to repay the loans, and arranged for the nominee borrowers to purchase the properties at prices far in excess of their true value. According to allegations in the indictment, Benham then directed large sums of money from the closing on the residential properties be paid to himself or accounts controlled by him. The indictment alleges that the five (5) loans obtained in this manner between July 2003 and April 2005 amounted to about $1.5 million. Benham is also accused of two counts of mail fraud arising from the mortgage loan scheme.
The one count of bank fraud accuses Benham of defrauding a Houston area bank by allegedly forging the signature of a payee on a $58,504 check and retaining the proceeds for himself. Lastly, Benham is accused of transferring approximately $25,000 of proceeds allegedly derived from his mortgage fraud scheme to a local Land Rover dealership.
mortgage fraud
If Benham proves to be guilty, he should be forced to sign-up to one of his own dirty loans. What creep!
Posted by on 04/29 at 03:43 PM
I live in Houston and had this done to me by a company under the name Loan Star Investments. Any advice? the home is about to go into Forclosure and I of course can not afford the home nor make the payments that are now 20,000 behind. I have been told to hire an attorney but I have no money to pay for one. I am a single mom, student forced to live at home. My credit was good before this scam and now is ruined.
Posted by on 06/16 at 07:12 AM
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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 
