Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Loan Officer Sentenced For $16M Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Monty J. Kinman, 27, Overland Park, Kansas, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan to two years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Kinman to pay a $2,500 fine.

Kinman was convicted at trial on November 7, 2007, for the mortgage fraud conspiracy as well as one count of wire fraud related to the attempted sale of a residential property at 5034 Sunset Drive, Kansas City, Missouri, at an inflated price. Conspirators falsely represented to Fieldstone Mortgage that the sale price was $1.2 million, while in reality, the actual sale price was $707,000. Conspirators sought to obtain a loan to purchase the property through a fraudulent loan application and other fraudulent documents.

Kinman, formerly the regional manager and a loan officer at Soldi Financial in Overland Park, is the sixth co-defendant sentenced in the mortgage fraud scheme.

Raymond Walter Zwego, Jr., 61, Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty on October 19, 2007, to being the organizer and leader of the mortgage fraud scheme and awaits sentencing. Zwego owned and operated Xpress Car Sales, Xpress Car Rental, North Mission Investments, Cobalt Blue, LLC, and Indigo Blue in North Kansas City. Zwego also pleaded guilty to 11 counts of wire fraud related to sending, or causing to be sent, fraudulent documents in a series of facsimiles and an e-mail in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Zwego’s fraudulent real estate closings included 56 properties with loans totaling approximately $15.8 million. Each of these loans were structured in such a way that Zwego received excess funds from the loan closings as a result of inflated appraisals and numerous false and fraudulent documents, as well as misrepresentations to multiple people and entities. These loans were financed by mortgages from 25 lenders, who sustained losses totaling approximately $6.2 million as a result of the fraud scheme.

As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, seven co-defendants have pleaded guilty and two were convicted at trial.

Rick A. Peterson, 34, Lenexa, Kansas, was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Peterson to pay a $2,500 fine. Peterson was convicted at trial on Nov. 7, 2007, for his role in the mortgage fraud conspiracy and for wire fraud. Peterson was a title insurance officer and loan closer from January 2004 through January 2007, first at Parkway Title in Overland Park, Kansas, then at Freedom Title in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was the manager of the office.

James R. Rhoades, 48, Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and $5,395,843 in restitution. Jeremy A. Plagman, 30, Lee’s Summit, Missouri, formerly an appraiser doing business as JET Appraisals in Lee’s Summit, was sentenced to two years of probation, including 30 days of home detention under electronic monitoring. As a condition of his probation, Plagman may not be involved in the real estate industry. Larry E. Barshaw, 57, and Linda M. Thompson-Barshaw, 59, of Kansas City, Kansas, were each sentenced to five years of probation, including six months of home detention. The court also ordered each of these three co-defendants to pay a $2,000 fine, and ordered the Barshaws to pay $1,517,108 in restitution.

The Barshaws were recruited as “straw buyers,” posing as purchasers of the Sunset Drive property. In reality, the Barshaws never intended to reside at the residence or to make payments on the mortgage. They were to be paid $40,000 for their role in the conspiracy. Thompson-Barshaw is ! the owner of Colormarc, Inc., a remodeling business that employs her husband, Larry Barshaw.

James E. Coleman, 60, Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty on May 21, 2007, to his role in the mortgage fraud conspiracy and to wire fraud, and awaits sentencing. Coleman, a Certified Public Accountant who formerly served as president of the board of a Kansas City magnet school, also pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud.

Michael Rodd, 54, Olathe, Kansas, pleaded guilty on June 27, 2007, to his role in the mortgage fraud conspiracy. Rodd was a real estate broker doing business as Heartland of America, Inc., in Olathe, Kansas. Rodd is currently a fugitive and a federal warrant has been issued for his arrest.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Linda Parker Marshall and Gene Porter. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

mortgage fraud

Post a Comment Name: Email: Location: Smileys Remember my personal information Notify me of follow-up comments? Submit the word you see below: The trackback URL for this entry is: Trackbacks: Previous entry: Search posts: Advanced Search --> Enter your Email Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

Today's News

Some Sources require Registration.   Marco Island Man Arrested in Ohio on Grand Theft Charge Naples News A man who claimed he was a broker is accused of bilking a long-time family friend out of more than $130,000. 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. Previous Articles

TRIAL COVERAGE

Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty. Follow Anne on Twitter. Thursday, February 18, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial - 1 Convicted, 3 Acquitted The jury deliberated for approximately 3 days after receiving their jury instructions. They asked one question: Does ‘common sense' allow us to deduce what the banks may or may not been influenced by in order to make a loan? Judge Julie Robinson responded by admonishing the jurors to read all of the instructions. The jury presented its' verdict... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... More Trial Coverage

What's Your Opinion?

ORDER NOW!!

Blog Roll

All Foreclosure Information and Resources Housing Storm Calculated Risk Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter Home Gain Blog Rain City Guide Real Estate Tomato Blood Hound Blog Appraiser Active Fraud, Phishing and Financial Misdeeds The Collar - US News and World Report Georgia Bankruptcy Blog Fighting Fraud Newsday Real LI Matrix