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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 Smith Dollar, PC, is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. Email Ms. Dollar
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A federal jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted defendants Tam Nguyen, Xuyen Nguyen, and Myna Tran on all counts charged in a mortgage fraud indictment following a two-week jury trial. The scheme operated in the Dallas, Texas area.
The jury convicted Tam Nguyen on one count of conspiracy, 12 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and three counts of money laundering. He faces a statutory maximum of 105 years in prison, coupled with restitution and a fine of up to $4,500,000.
Xuyen Nguyen, convicted on one count of conspiracy, seven counts of wire fraud, and two counts of mail fraud, faces a statutory maximum of 50 years imprisonment, restitution, and a fine of up to $2,500,000.
The jury convicted Myna Tran (who was allegedly employed as a mortgage broker for Ultima Real Estate Services, Dallas, Texas) on one count of conspiracy, five counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of money laundering. She faces a statutory maximum of 55 years imprisonment, restitution, and a fine of up to $2,750,000.
The evidence presented by the United States at trial established defendants Myan Tran, Xuyen Nguyen, and Tam Nguyens involvement in a scheme to defraud Countrywide Home Loans resulting in millions of dollars of losses to Countrywide based on fraudulent mortgage loan applications and appraisals for residential home purchases in this area. Four other defendants were also charged in the indictment filed in this case on May 25, 2005, all of which pled guilty before trial. Those defendants were:
Sean Cung-Kim Nguyen aka Sean Cung Nguyen who was allegedly employed as a mortgage broker for Century Mortgage, Arlington, Texas, plead guilty to one count of conspiracy and three counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting.
Dai Quoc Nguyen who was allegedly employed as a sales representative for Re/Max, Richardson, Texas and a loan officer for United Capital Mortgage, Inc., Garland, Texas entered a plea agreement, supported by factual basis, on October 5, 2005 to one count of conspiracy and three counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting.
Hong Thanh Duong plead guilty to one count of conspiracy on October 19, 2005.
Cuc Kim Tran plead guilty to one count of misprison of felony on October 19, 2005.
As part of the conspiracy, Sean Nguyen needed straw buyers who were willing to sign loan applications for Countrywide, while not intending to move into the homes or even make any mortgage payments. These straw buyers were recruited by Xuyen Nguyen and Tam Nguyen. Tam Nguyen is Xuyen Nguyens son. They would recruit Vietnamese and Korean straw borrowers, from the State of Washington, who had excellent credit scores and were willing to sign off on these bogus applications to be submitted to Countrywide. As to the individual transactions involving these different co-conspirators, the FBI was able to trace a trail of money from Countrywide to the Title Company to individual accounts held by Dai Nguyen, Myna Tran, or Tam Nguyen. Each time this happened, the recipients of the stolen money would launder the funds by obtaining cash and buying a number of cashiers checks designed to funnel money to Sean Nguyen and the other co-conspirators.
Overall, the co-conspirators worked together to steal money from Countrywide on a number of real estate transactions. Overall, more than 18 different houses were targeted in the scheme, but the trial focused on the following houses, with the names of the co-conspirators who were involved and the amount of loss to Countrywide as a result of the fraud:
2304 Spenrock Ct., Lewisville, Texas Sean Nguyen, Dai Nguyen, and Tam Nguyen; Amount of loss - $245,690.19
7605 Constitution, Plano, Texas Sean Nguyen, Dai Nguyen, and Tam Nguyen; Amount of loss - $243,640.18
421 Ivan Drive, Lewisville, Texas Sean Nguyen, Dai Nguyen, Tam Nguyen, Xuyen Nguyen, and Hong Duong; Amount of Loss $252,989.10
4010 Ridgecrest Trial, Carrollton, Texas Sean Nguyen, Dai Nguyen, Tam Nguyen, Xuyen Nguyen, and Cuc Tran; Amount of Loss $205,782.36
6319 Fox Hunt Drive, Arlington, Texas Sean Nguyen and Myna Tran; Amount of Loss $307,009.27
6727 Silvercrest Drive, Arlington, Texas Sean Nguyen, Myna Tran, Tam Nguyen, and Xuyen Nguyen; Amount of Loss $188,915.47
All of these transactions had the same unique fingerprint for the crime all Countrywide loans, all houses have fraudulent appraisals doubling the fair market value of the houses, all have straw borrowers recruited usually from Seattle, Washington, who were flown in by Xuyen Nguyen to sign the fraudulent paperwork, and all have a flurry of money laundering cashier check activity after the transaction is closed where the money is funneled to various participants.
Additional properties included in the indictment were:
Failed Mortgage Firm Trustee Allowed $50,000 in Fees Union Leader
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge J. Michael Deasy will approve $50,000 in legal fees for the trustee of failed mortgage brokerage businesses Financial Resources Mortgage Inc. and CL&M Inc.
Bend Oregon Event to Help Homeowners Prevent Foreclosures Oregon.Gov
As part of an ongoing effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, state agencies are organizing a foreclosure-prevention event in Bend on Saturday, March 27, 2010.
Shelbyville Man Gets 2-Year Sentence For Loan Fraud Chattanoogan.Com
Prosecutor Gary Humble said the lost was approximately $2.3 million in the mortgage fraud involving hundreds of homes in the Shelbyville area.
Lend America, VP Ashley Banned from FHA Housing Wire
Michael Ashley, the embattled former vice president of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage originator Lend America, and the company he worked for, were permanently banned from doing business in the industry last week.
Countrywide Tries to Pin Blame on Insurer Court House News
Countrywide Home Loans demands $111 million from Triad Guaranty Insurance, claiming Triad is trying to blame mortgage lenders for the insurer's role in the housing bubble and collapse.
Investors Say They Were Swindled in Property Scheme Fox 13 Now
Utah Division of Consumer Protection is joining forces with a few investors who claim they have been cheated by an agency called "Utah Mini Ranches.
Greenfield Man Accused of Housing Scam The Republic
A former real estate agent conned at least eight people by renting them properties actually owned by a federal agency and then running off with their deposits, prosecutors said.
Appraisal Institute Opposes Obama Administration's Plan for Homeowner 'Short Sales' PR News Wire
Citing concerns about increased mortgage fraud, four organizations representing more than 35,000 real estate appraisers today voiced their opposition to changes to an Obama administration program that will encourage "short sales" of homes.
Ownership Rights to Get Another Look TBO.Com
State lawmakers may beef up protections of property owners' rights by rewriting a law this spring that is at the center of a case of alleged fraud in Pasco County.
Thursday, February 18, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Continued Testimony
As reported by Anne Mitchell, who viewed the trial:
Angela Parenza worked for Jeff Miller as the office manager for 7 or 8 years beginning in 1998. Parenza was indicted along with Miller and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. Parenza testified that Miller or his contractors allegedly preferred to build all the...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Coverage Continued - Witness Testimony
Steve Middleton Testimony - Coverage Provided by Anne Mitchell
The Government continued in its cross examination of Steve Middleton. He was shown several HUD-1 statements involving sales of homes located in Overland Park, KS, and Olathe, KS. The HUD statements each allegedly showed line items of payments to (James) Moser & Associates, LLC's...
Monday, February 01, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial Coverage - Continued Witness Examination
According to Anne Mitchell, who is present in court for the trial:
Next Witness: Kelly Sanford
Kelly Sanford of the Federal Reserve was a short witness for the Government. Sanford manages electronic payments between banks and member financial institutions. He was shown copies of wire transfers and asked whether they coincided with the counts in...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial - Prosecution Witnesses Continued
According to Anne Mitchell, who is viewing the trial:
January 13, 2010
Witness: Rick Hayes
Rick Hayes testified that on the day that he closed on his Miller Enterprise home, he received a phone call from the Kansas Banking Commission informing him that his loan was fraudulent. After the Hayes responded to a classified ad, they met with John...
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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.
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 
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