Mortgage Fraud Blog is the premier website for news and information on mortgage fraud and real estate fraud throughout the United States.
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
Mortgage Fraud Blog is co-sponsored by Interthinx the leading provider of fraud services and solutions for the mortgage industry.
Maryland Attorney & Broker Plead Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Rachel Donegan, 37, and David Lincoln, 37, Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty to wire fraud arising from a mortgage fraud scheme.
Donegan and Lincoln worked at 1st Metropolitan Mortgage and Guilford Title and Escrow, located in Baltimore, Maryland, preparing mortgage applications and assisting in mortgage closings. According to their plea agreements (Donegan plea, Lincoln plea), from January 2005 to December 2006, Donegan and Lincoln participated with Yolanda Crawley and Shawn Michael Green in a scheme to wire mortgage applications to mortgage companies which contained false representations about Crawley and Green‘s income and employment. The fraud scheme allowed Crawley to secure loans for the followintg properties: 10740 Versailles Boulevard, Wellington, Florida valued at over $1 million; 477 Pacific Grove Drive, Unit Three, West Palm Beach, Florida valued at $500,000; and 7138 Natures Road, Columbia, Maryland valued at $316,000. The fraud scheme also allowed Green to secure loans for property at 2339 Eutaw Place, Baltimore, Maryland, valued at $300,000.
Donegan and Lincoln face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. No sentencing date has been set for the defendants.
In a related indictment, Green, 41, Columbia, Maryland, and Crawley, West Palm Beach, Florida, are charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine from 1998 to 2007 and conspiracy to commit money laundering from 2004 to 2007. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $4 million, which is based on a minimum of 200 kilograms of cocaine at $20,000 per kilogram, and includes the properties in Baltimore and Florida involved in the fraud scheme. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
Hello Sir
I was a victim by fraud. A group people took advance on me and bought 3 houses , I invited me as a invest in their company. They promised they their company will take care all stuffs, payments, taxes, insurance of houses...Each house when they sold then I will get commision.
I did not know that they are together and cash money back by the last house.
Now 2 houses were forclosured done and the last one in Fairfax is on the way.
I came to the Lawyer , he promised me that he will take care me....But he wanted to buy my house and did not do anything for my case.
Please S.O.S me. I did not know who to talk with. I was a vietnamese I did not know much English and just got a part time job now.
Please email or call me at 571-830-9636
Sincerly
trung pham
Posted by on 01/04 at 01:22 PM
Ms. Rachel,
I am writing to you because maybe you can assist me in some type of legal direction. To give you a short history of what happened to me. i came home Tuesday night from school around 10:30 to find out to my surprise i couldnt get in my home. My mortgage company had an inspector change the locks on my door as if my home was sitting vacant and in foreclosure. I am current with my mortgage because I had a settled modification done in September 2009. I had to break in my back door to find out what was going on and my power and water was turned off due to winterization. well to make a long story short i lost a week from work and i had to break in my back door to find out what was going on and i had to call mortgage company for 4 days to get resolution. They had gone in my home and taken things out and had given them to neighbor. there is much more to this story that i am still fighting. When they turned my water tank back on they put it to high and now water is in my basement because the thermostat
busted. can you please assist me in whom i can contact for legal help in this matter.
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...
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.
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 
mortgage fraud
