Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Mortgage Fraud Fugitive Extradited To Florida

Delroy Patterson, 47, formerly of Lauderhill, Florida, was extradited on Monday, July 14, 2008 from Kingston, Jamaica, and will make his initial appearance in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. Patterson will have a Pre-Trial Detention hearing on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 10:00am in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida before Magistrate Judge Seltzer.

In November 2006, Delroy Patterson and ten (10) other co-defendants were charged in a forty-seven (47) count Indictment for their participation in a complex mortgage fraud scheme involving more than thirty (30) properties bought and sold in Broward County, Florida.  The fraud resulted in the issuance of approximately $10,000,000 in mortgage loans.  This investigation was named “Operation Whose House,” because, as a result of the defendants’ fraud, public property records did not accurately reflect the true ownership of the properties bought and sold by these defendants.  To date, this operation has resulted in the conviction of nine individuals, eight of which pled guilty and one who was convicted after trial.

According to the Indictment, the defendants engaged in a scheme to enrich themselves by obtaining mortgages from lenders using straw purchasers and through the submission of false documentation, including false loan applications, false employment verification forms, false salary statements, and false bank account statements reflecting high account balances.  The defendants also allegedly used and caused others to use false or stolen Florida’s driver’s licenses, identification cards, and social security numbers as their personal identification at closings, in order to purchase property in the names of individuals whose identification documents had been previously stolen. 

According to the Indictment, defendant Yvette Scott Patterson masterminded the scheme, and used her mortgage business, Khadmilroy Inc., located in Broward County, to execute it. The Indictment lists seventeen (17) properties, all in Broward County, purchased with loans obtained through fraudulent applications and supporting documentation in the names of straw purchasers or in the names of persons whose identification documents, including social security numbers and driver’s licenses, had been previously stolen.  Over the period of the conspiracy, defendant Yvette Scott Patterson received approximately $300,000 in loan closing fees, mortgage broker fees, and yield premiums in connection with the fraudulently procured mortgages. Yvette Scott Patterson fled to Jamaica, where she was subsequently arrested. The government has filed an extradition request.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum term of imprisonment of up to five years on the conspiracy count (Count 1), up to twenty years’ imprisonment on the mail fraud count (Count 13), and from two imprisonment on the aggravated identity fraud counts (Counts 43- 44).

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation, the United States Secret Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey Kay and Jennifer Keene of the Fort Lauderdale Office.

mortgage fraud

1. In 2001, I was laid off from a $150,000 year senior management job with a F-500 company in Florida.  I decided to become an appraiser while I looked for a job in my field.  I completed the state course, passed the test with a perfect 100%, and became an ‘apprentice’ appraiser.  In Florida an apprentice appraiser is ‘over-seen’ by a certified appraiser.  It takes about 1 year to complete enough appraisals along some addition course hours and passing a state test to become certified.  During the apprentice phase, a certified appraiser must review and co-sign each appraisal, they also typically charge $150-$200 for each ‘review’.  Typically this leaves the apprentice with $100 or less for each appraisal.
   Some certified appraiser actually take $150 or 60%, which ever is greater for the ‘review’ Most ‘reviews’ I observed were nothing more a signature, or even worse, the apprentice signed the certified appraiser name electronically, with the blessing of the certified appraiser.  It was all about money, and turning appraisals in fast and making the ‘value’ sought by the mortgage brokers.  The faster an appraisal firm turned the paper work in, and made ‘value’, the more business they would get from places like Countrywide for example.
   I was pressured to make ‘value’ almost on a daily basis, some mortgage brokers would ask me to ‘bump up’ the value to a specific number.  Mortgage Brokers would send me the specific value number on each appraisal request along with suggested ‘comparables’, and would verbally tell me if I couldn’t make value they would not pay for the appraisal. 

   I refused to play the game, and after a while, it was costing me money, Brokers wouldn’t pay for appraisals that didn’t meet ‘value’, but my certified appriser, who handled all the billing would deduct his 60% fee from my pay check, so I was losing money on good appraisals by not being able to collect on ‘unpaid’ appraisals.
   Needless to say, I bailed out of the losing situation, and ‘retired’ after a few months. 
   I believe stories like mine contributed to the situation we see today.  Appraisal is only a small part of the total problem, but it is subject to a lot more corruption that in this story...this is only the tip of the iceberg that I saw in a few months

   Posted by  on  07/20  at  02:49 PM

2. As the saying goes, a few bad apples will ruin the bunch…

   As a “professional” certified appraiser who has to continually compete against these fraudulant sweatshops for enough business to survive, I just have one question to ask:

   When you realized that the appraisal “firm” or supervisor you were associated with was unscrupulous and fraudulant, did you turn in a complaint to the state regulatory board to maybe stop the corruption on the consumers of Florida, or did you just walk away, therefore, contributing to the problem that now faces the entire US economy???

   There are similar “bad apples” in EVERY market in the US, and as they are the ones giving these mortgage/lender clients what they ask for, they will get all of the work, therefore, continuing the cycle of fraud on the consumers.

   The state regulatory agencies can only do thier job if they are informed of these “bad apples” by others willing to help clean-up the industry. We all need to help…

   Posted by  on  07/23  at  04:05 AM

3. This whole problem is the lenders problem because they are the one who came up with problem like no money, no credit, no doc program and so on. Now when back is against the wall they all need some one to put the blame the first they find it the so-call loan officers, realtors, appraisers and mortgage brokers. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE ANY WHY?

   Posted by  on  07/24  at  11:35 PM

4. IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 17TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT ,IN AND FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA CIVIL DIVISION CASE NO.:CACE 07009545.PARAGON MORTGAGE HOLDING, LLC,vs.MALGORZATA SZYMCZAK.

   JOHN DOE Paragon Home Lending,LLC. and Denice Brunette “MORTGAGE ACCEPTANCE CORP.Lic.#031.0003881 loan Orginator.Denice Brunette prepared two mortgage loan application.
   False representation of employment,income information necessary to assess qualifications to borrow funds in the amounts 50.000 $.The false and fraudulent loan application included,among other things,inflated of Malorzata Szymczak income and funds on deposit, and false statements employment,residential address at thet time.Malgorzat Szymczak newer signed the false and fraudulent mortgage loan applications.Dennis Brunette She never disclosed this understanding to the bank and lending institution.

   Posted by  on  08/07  at  03:21 PM

5. Mortgage fraud is a term used to describe a broad variety of actions where the intent is to materially misrepresent information on a mortgage loan application, in order to obtain the loan.Mortgage fraud is not to be confused with predatory mortgage lending. Mortgage fraud is when one or more individuals defraud a financial institution; predatory lending is when a dishonest financial institution willfully misleads or deceives the consumer.

   Arjun

   <a rel="dofollow"> Florida Drug Addiction</a>

   Posted by  on  08/22  at  09:14 AM

6. Mortgage fraud is a term used to describe a broad variety of actions where the intent is to materially misrepresent information on a mortgage loan application, in order to obtain the loan.Mortgage fraud is not to be confused with predatory mortgage lending. Mortgage fraud is when one or more individuals defraud a financial institution; predatory lending is when a dishonest financial institution willfully misleads or deceives the consumer.

   Arjun

   <a rel="dofollow">Florida Drug Addiction </a>

   Posted by  on  08/22  at  09:19 AM