Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Mortgage Fraud Scheme Leads to Prison Term for Houston Man
Revis Otto Willis, 48, Houston, Texas, a former mortgage broker, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole for his leadership role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
United States District Judge Nancy F. Atlas imposed the 121-month sentence to be followed by a three-year-term of supervised release at a hearing today. Willis was convicted of wire fraud after pleading guilty September 18, 2007.
Willis was a mortgage broker licensed by the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending and owned and operated Advanced Mortgage Services located at 2600 block of Fountainview in Houston. Between October 2004 through May 2008, Willis recruited straw buyers to make false statements about their income and employment and bank account balances on loan applications to purchase residential properties for sale in the Houston area. Willis encouraged the buyers to apply for mortgages in amounts greater than the actual sales price of the home. The loan applications containing the false statements were submitted to various financial institutions that traded mortgages on the secondary market. The difference between the actual sales price of the residence and the exaggerated loan amount was divided among Willis and others involved in the fraud scheme. Almost all of the loans secured as part of the scheme were defaulted upon and ultimately resulted in foreclosures. In assessing sentence, the court found Willis was a leader/organizer of the illegal fraud scheme and held him responsible for losses totaling approximately $2 million involving 21 different residences.
Willis has been in federal custody since May 8, 2007, and will remain in custody to serve his sentence.
Willis’ assistant, Willie Carson III, 39, of Houston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in the scheme. He was sentenced May 2008 by Judge Atlas to a year and a day in federal prison.
The charges against Willis and Carson are the result of an 18-month investigation conducted by special agents of the United States Secret Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay Hileman.
mortgage fraud
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
F. Jeffrey Miller Update - October 20, 2009
A hearing was held in Topeka, Kansas in front of Judge Julie Robinson. Miller is currently being held pending his sentencing which is set for December 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.. Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin, Miller's codefendants, will be sentenced at that time also.
Several motions were heard this week. One was a motion for Miller to be released pending his sentencing. Miller's attorney, Jeff Morris, argued that the court had dismmissed with predjudice the matter involving Miller's purchase of a commercial lawnmower, violating the court ordered monitoring agreement. He also argued that Miller was not a flight risk and should be released. This motion was denied.
Another motion heard by Judge Robinson was that of an escrow account containing proceeds from the sale of Miller's forfeited assets. This account has a balance of $143,000. Attorney Morris argued that his firm was due $100,000 for work done in the Miller matter, to date. The government argued that his 'un-itemized fees' were 'exhorbitant'. The balance of the funds, Morris argued, should be released to the Miller family to help pay for mounting household expenses.
The government argued that the 'Asset Forfeiture Provision' applies down to 'the last penny' and that 'the rights of the victims to made whole are of paramount immportance' and that no routine household expenses like Visa bills, are allowed.
Attorney Morris argues that there is more than enough assets to satisfy the jury's judgement of $2.65 million dollars. The government argues that the estimated value of his assets are only $1.4 million.
The government also stated that Miller has been paid dividends from a company Miller has an ownership interest in; Boreflex. From July, 2008 to present, Miller has been paid $330,509.30 from Boreflex, unbeknownst to the court appointed monitor.
Present in the courtroom was Todd Earnshaw. Earnshaw was indicted along with Miller and others in what is commonly referred to as 'Miller I'. That trial is scheduled to begin on January 11, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
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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 
