Thursday, July 03, 2008
Missouri Announces Mortgage Fraud Indictments
In September 2006, James Sutton violated his probation from a 2005 sentence for mail fraud by purchasing more than 20 properties using his father’s social security number. As a result, Sutton pled guilty this spring to an additional felony charge of misuse of a social security number and was sentenced June 3, 2008 , to a term of 16 months in prison. In addition, Sutton‘s probation for the 2005 offense was revoked and he was sentenced to six months prison to run concurrent to the 16 months.
On June 9, 2008, Daryl W. Miller pled guilty to wire fraud for selling two properties and then, after he no longer owned these properties, taking out a mortgage against one and selling the other for a second time.
Last April, 2007, Christopher Rakel pled guilty to fraud charges involving a far-ranging scheme to defraud banks and other mortgage lenders and awaits sentencing.
On March 24, 2008 , Floyd Irons, former Vashon High School Coach, Michael Noll and John Mineo, Jr., a local restaurant operator, were sentenced to 12 months, 20 months and 12 months and 1 day in prison, respectively, on wire and mail fraud charges in connection with a million dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
On February 15, 2008 , Daniel Mann was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme. The scheme involved lining up properties from distressed sellers willing to take a below-market sale price for a property and matching them up with willing buyers. Mann and others arranged 100% financing for the buyers by means of false mortgage applications, which typically included lies about a buyer’s finances and intention to occupy a property. In all, the scheme involved more than 60 properties, mostly in South St. Louis and ran from 2005 through 2006. In addition to Mann, Steven Heinrichs and Tracy Westmoreland have pled guilty to related charges for their participation in this same ring and are scheduled for sentencing in July.
John Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, FBI-St. Louis stated, “The ongoing initiative, known as Operation Malicious Mortgage, reflects the FBI’s mission and efforts to identify, target, disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations and individual operations engaged in mortgage fraud schemes that target our nation’s financial institutions and have an effect on our nation’s economy.”
Operation Malicious Mortgage represents the joint collaborative efforts of the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Trustee Program, Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of the Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of the Inspector General and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of the Inspector General. Operation Malicious Mortgage is the most recent coordinated sweep in an ongoing law enforcement effort to combat mortgage fraud, which also included Operation Continued Action in 2004 and Operation Quick Flip in 2005.
“Misconduct like the cases described here only makes things worse for the troubled housing industry,” said Hanaway. “Federal law enforcement has responded to the crisis by stepping up fraud enforcement and emphasizing the prosecution of criminal misconduct and the aggressive collection of restitution for victims.”
An indictment is not evidence of guilt. All persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
mortgage fraud
I was wondering why it takes so long to indict these criminals. I was one of several witnesses who have been interviewed by Law Enforcement officials on the Fraud and False Loan applications signed by Ron Hertel and Robert Fowler on a mega million dollar scam. They are now in default on several big loans and we were told to just stay silent, indictments are coming. As they RW Hertel & Sons aka Verdot Group, L.P. and Atascadero Ventures, LLC with 5 Mile Bridge Winery launder monies and conceal assets the feds and banks need to act sooner rather than later to indict these criminals.
Posted by on 07/05 at 01:21 PM
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Some Sources require Registration.
Real Estate Fraud Widespread, Insider Q&A Told
Orange County Register- California
As head of the California Department of Real Estate, it’s Davi’s responsibility to oversee the licensing and regulation of real estate agents and to investigate complaints.
Complaints Against Ohio Real-Estate Agents Rise
Cincinnati.com - Cincinnati, OH
Some of the most common complaints involve buyers upset over undisclosed property problems and agents not doing the marketing they had promised. There's also been an increase in mortgage fraud and criminal allegations.
Millions At Risk Of Foreclosure Fraud
Inland Empire News - Riverside, CA
The reason Carter, 55, is facing eviction, she says, is that she fell for a high-stakes scam that’s sweeping the nation, preying on the 1 in 11 consumers who are either behind on their mortgage payments or already in foreclosure.
Florida Comes Clean, Allowed Criminals to Enter Mortgage Industry, Prey on Consumers
By The Liput Group
In a stinging critique of the state's oversight of the mortgage industry, top Florida investigators found that state regulators failed to alert police agencies to crooked mortgage brokerages, ignored citizen complaints and allowed hundreds of people with criminal histories to peddle loans.
FBI's Mortgage Fraud Caseload Grows To 24
Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
The FBI is investigating 24 cases of potential corporate fraud related to mortgage lending, up from 21 cases disclosed by the bureau in July, bureau director Robert Mueller told Congress yesterday.
Convicted Appraiser Nicolo Back In Custody
MPNnow.com - Rochester, NY
John Nicolo, who was convicted in a widespread kickback scheme involving Eastman Kodak Co. and a former Monroe County assessor, is back in police custody after he allegedly violated the conditions of his release.
Mortgage Crisis Leads To An Increase In Scams
WSBT-TV - South Bend, IN
When it comes to perpetrating a scam or a fraud some tools used are a gun, or a fist, or a knife,” Zultanski said. “Mortgage is another avenue to commit a fraud.”
Mortgage Firm Countrywide, In Response To Alleged Data Breach, Offers Free Credit Monitoring
Los Angeles Times - CA
Countrywide Financial Corp. is offering two years of free credit monitoring to customers whose sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, allegedly was stolen from the home lender's computer files.
Caught in ID Theft's 'Horrible Web'
Columbian - Clark County, Washington
A woman took Carpenter's professional identity as a real estate appraiser, using Carpenter's name and license number. She even appraised commercial and million-dollar properties that Carpenter, a residential appraiser, isn't licensed to do.
Top 10 Riskiest Areas for Mortgage Loans
U.S. News & World Report - Washington, DC
First American CoreLogic recently released a study that ranks America's top 10 riskiest areas in which to make a home loan.
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Rachel Dollar is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles fraud recovery litigation for lenders and secondary market investors nationwide. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. 
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