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
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North Carolina AG Unravels Fayetteville Property Investment Scheme
A Fayetteville real estate investment scheme has been shut down after leaving dozens of unsuspecting consumers with loans they cannot afford and rental properties that are worth far less than what they paid for them, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced.
Under a consent judgment signed by Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Gessner, two of the companies and one of the individuals who ran the scheme are barred from the tricky practices they used to mislead people into investing in rental properties in the Fayetteville and Triangle, North Carolina areas. The court order applies to Maurice Jenkins, Lessane Properties, LLC, and Fayetteville’s Property Center and any of their agents and representatives. If Jenkins is found to have any financial assets, Cooper will pursue restitution for consumer victims.
The case against two other defendants, Holly Stevens and The Eddie Peyton Group, remains pending. Cooper’s office believes they have ceased operating in North Carolina.
Cooper contends that Jenkins and the other defendants told consumers they could help them make a profit by purchasing houses and renting them out without having to pay any money down. Jenkins funded his scheme by misrepresenting the value of the properties he sold to consumers and by causing consumers to take out mortgages and lines of credit for more than the properties are worth.
Public records in Cumberland, Durham, Harnett, Robeson, Sampson, and Wake counties indicate that Jenkins and the other defendants have sold more than 120 homes since 2004. The defendants purchased most of these houses out of foreclosure for between $10,000 and $70,000 and then resold them as rental properties for between $30,000 and $150,000.
According to Cooper’s complaint, the defendants promised to manage the rental properties and cover consumers’ monthly mortgage payments, taxes, and insurance on the homes as well as to pay them $500 profit a month per house. However, the defendants did not charge enough rent to cover all of the promised payments. In some cases, houses were not rented at all or were too damaged to be inhabitable. Jenkins told consumers that he would take care of getting loans for them to purchase the properties.
According to consumers interviewed by Cooper’s Consumer Protection Division, Jenkins completed their loan applications, took them to meet with loan officers, and told them how much money to borrow. In loan applications he prepared and submitted, Jenkins inflated borrowers’ incomes, exaggerated what they were going to pay for the properties, and misrepresented at least one borrower’s employment status.
As alleged in the Attorney General’s complaint, in some cases the defendants told lenders that consumers already owned the homes and were applying to refinance so that the loan would be approved with less scrutiny from the bank. Jenkins and the other defendants would then keep the money borrowed by the consumers and fail to pay off the previous mortgages, leaving consumers stuck with two mortgages on a single property. Some consumers didn’t find out that Jenkins hadn’t paid off the previous loans until they started to get foreclosure notices.
“Consumers looking to invest in real estate got snared by a complicated scheme that left them with lots of debt and no profit,” Cooper said. “We’ve put a stop to the scheme so that no one else gets hurt.”“If you’re looking for a legitimate opportunity to invest in real estate, beware of deals that sound too good be true,” Cooper said. “There are no risk-free investments, and any one who tells you otherwise or guarantees you a profit is probably up to no good.”
Cooper offered consumers the following advice about real estate investment deals:
• Do your own research on the property and investment opportunity. Investing in real estate should not be an impulse decision. Don’t rely on the information that is provided to you by the developers or
the people who are trying to get you to buy in to the investment.
• Get an independent appraisal to check the value of the property. Never rely on the appraisal of the developer or seller. Hire an independent appraiser, and be sure to check that he or she is a licensed
appraiser in the state where the property is located.
• Consider having your own attorney review documents before you sign them to be sure that everything is accurate and above-board. Never sign a closing statement or loan papers that aren’t entirely
accurate.
• If the opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
I can’t believe I lost 4 homes to this fraud. I trusted these companies; and know I don’t even know where to start to pick up the pieces. I invested because I am a single mom wanting to have something in the future. Now I have nothing. What do I do now. With 4 forclosure homes on my credit. I feel so lost.
Posted by on 10/01 at 05:12 PM
I met Mr. Jenkins through a family member. I visited NC a few years ago with the hopes of obtaining a few properties for extra income. I was unable to obtain any properties because of certain reasons. Its unfortunate though for the people that are stuck with this situation. You can only learn from this situation and the advice given above in the article is right.
Posted by on 07/22 at 01:23 PM
Personal Property Taxes are Imposed and All should be up in arms about that.
Your local Tax Appriasal do not even have a set checklist to properly determine any value of the properties they impose personal property on.
You want to talk Fraud.
Tax value is subject to change without notice do to the fact the Tax Value is determined by those whom impose the personal taxes on the citizens.
Any country that prints its own currency does not need to impose taxation on its people.
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...
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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 
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