Mortgage Fraud Blog is the premier website for news and information on mortgage fraud and real estate fraud throughout the United States.
imageRachel 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.



Advanced Search
Enter your Email


Powered by FeedBlitz

Dollar in the News

August 6, 2009 - Inman News
The Lowdown on Downpayment Programs

July, 2009 - Mortgage Banking Magazine
Flashpoint - FHA Fraud

June 5, 2009 - Miami Herald
Feds Get Tough on Mortgage Fraud

More Articles
-->
- Guaranty Title Owners Indicted for Fraud and Money Laundering
- Mortgage Fraudster Admits Laundering Ill Gotten Gains
- Builder Convicted In Mortgage Scheme
- Identity Thief Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud
- 7 Charged in Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme
- Appraiser Indicted for False Statements
- Professor Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme
- Second Missouri Man Sentenced in Major Mortgage Fraud Scheme
- Deed Forger Sentenced in Real Estate Fraud Case
- Man Arrested for Real Estate Ponzi Scheme
-->

Syndicate

You're welcome to post our feed on your site and provide your readers with the latest Headlines! Just select "Get Widget" below . . .
  

Subscribe in NewsGator Online

Bookmark and Share

What's this?

Friday, June 09, 2006

Ohio Closing Agents Indicted for Assisting Down Payment Scheme

Stephanie Corsmeier and Stacey Lester were indicted in the Southern District of Ohio on 11 counts of bank, mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money in connection with their participation in a down payment assistance scheme.

Corsmeier owned and operated a real estate title company, American Security Title, in Ohio, where she employed Lester as a disbursement clerk.  From January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2004, according to the indictment, the defendants worked with co-conspirator loan officers, primarily Clarence Harris (who plead guilty to related charges in February 2006) and Ike Bronson (plead guilty to related charges in January 2006) and their shell companies LCI Financial and Inman Realty, to facilitate a “down payment assistance” scheme. 

The coconspirators would recruit home buyers to purchase real estate, financing 100% of the sales price of the property with no money down. They would usually prepare a loan application stating that the buyer had funds available for the down payment and intended to use funds from his/her bank account to make the down payment.  In fact the buyer didn’t have the funds or the intent to make the down payment. 

After receiving the wired funds from the lender, Corsmeier or Lester would issue a check from the wired funds to one of the coconspirator companies, ostensibly for sums due in connection with the transaction.  The conspirators would deposit these checks to their bank accounts and then immediately obtain a cashier’s check for the funds.  This casher’s check would then be submitted to Corsmeier or another closing agent at American Security Title Company.  The settlement statement would falsely reflect that the borrower provided the down payment when, in fact, the down payment had been provided by a coconspirator.

The scheme enabled buyers to qualify for loans they would not otherwise have been able to obtain and also enabled the buyers to obtain mortgages representing 100% of the purchase price as the property were appraised at inflated values and the loan amounts represented the actual purchase prices.

American Security Title Company received substantial fees for the services.  Their profit in the scheme resulted from increased business volume.

1324 Ryland Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

726 Whittier Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

1216 Blanchard Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

316 Mohawk Place, Cincinnati, Ohio

5211 Lillian Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio

138 Kinsey Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

1610 Neilson Place, Cincinnati, Ohio

1526 Lincoln Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1992 Harrison Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

6833 Greismer Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

3515 Wabash Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1137 Grand Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

2540 Queen City Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

4143 Langland Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

2810 Preston Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1241 Lincoln Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1721 Grand Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1225 Quebec Road, Cincinnati, Ohio

2270 Loth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

5726 Argus Road, Cincinnati, Ohio

3058 Kerper Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1726 Denham Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

3331 Hewitt Crescent, Cincinnati, Ohio

1647 Iliff Road, Cincinnati, Ohio

4255 Kirby Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

2159 Oesper Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

511-513 Forest Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

515 Hickory, Cincinnati, Ohio

3022 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1928 Bigelow Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

3020 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

2026 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1416 Joseph Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

533 Rockdale Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1226 Dewey Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1913 Losantiville Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1628 Blair Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

869 Hutchins Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

1851 Clarion Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

3628 Idlewild Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

5911 Erie Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

3573 Bogart Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

 mortgage fraud

   

Posted by Rachel Dollar on 06/09/06 at 04:38 AM
Mortgage Fraud LocationsOhio • Total comments: (5) (0) Trackbacks
  1. The closing agents should not have disbursed loan proceeds prior to closing. That is what burns them here and proves they knew the money didn’t come from Buyer.
    Most of these scams in Georgia are designed so the fraudster (i.e. Harris in this case) would front the money out of pocket to buy the Buyer’s cashier check, so the closing agent knows nothing. The fraudster hands the check to Buyer right outside the closing, so at the table it looks like Buyer’s money . However, Harris was either too cheap to front the money, or too worried the Buyer would bolt with the cashier’s check, so Fraudster wouldn’t buy the cashier’s check until he had his fraud profits in hand. Greedy

    Posted by  on  06/09  at  05:46 AM
  2. WHAT KIND OF PUNISHMENT DID THE REAL ESTATE APPRAISER GET? I have been a licensed appraiser in Ohio for 15 years. Last year I took a continuing-ed class in Columbus. My instructor was one of the 5 board members that make-up the Ohio-State Appraisal Board. Members are appointed by Governor Taft. The instructor stated “Since licensing began in 1989, the State of Ohio has issued over 3400 appraisal licenses and to date [2005] only 10 appraisers have lost there license”. This is probably why we lead the nation in foreclosures. It is becoming almost impossible to operate an appraisal business above the board in Ohio. Real Estate fraud in Ohio is like a forest fire. The State is using a garden hose to try to extinguish it.

    Posted by  on  06/09  at  06:03 AM
  3. Rachel,

    If the loan was 100% LTV why would a down payment be required?  This doesn’t make sense to me.  Please clarify.

    Posted by John Wyatt, CMB  on  06/12  at  07:18 AM
  4. The loans were not INTENDED as 100 percent LTV.  They were effectively 100 percent LTV because the borrower did not make the down payment.  For example - the lender approved the loan at $80K on a purchase price disclosed as $100K. The borrower was slated to make a $20K down payment.  In fact, the property was only worth $80K - although an inflated appraisal reflected it as worth $100K. The down payment was taken from and then recontributed to the closing funds. In effect, the borrower purchased the property for $80K and the lender has an $80K loan against a property worth $80K and the borrower contributed no funds to the transaction.  The lender has a loan that is 100 percent LTV!

    Posted by  on  06/12  at  07:45 AM
  5. Getting a loan in Pennsylvania these days is much harder than it was in 2006.  Back then they were giving money away. 

    Posted by  on  08/11  at  07:09 AM

Post a Comment

Name:

Email:

Location:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


The trackback URL for this entry is:

Trackbacks:

Bookmark and Share Enter your Email


Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz
mortgage fraud news



Today's News

Some Sources require Registration.

 

Mortgage Scam Ends with Prison
The Morning Call
A judge didn't hold back when Shirley Matthews appeared before him Tuesday to be sentenced for stealing from a Monroe County man instead of helping him save his home from foreclosure, as she was hired to do.

Woman Gets Prison Time After Mortgage Scam Conviction
Pocono Record
A New Jersey woman will be spending two to five years in state prison after she was sentenced on Tuesday for promising to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and then keeping the money she was given for their mortgages.

2 Indicted in Mortgage Scam Face New Charges
Newsday.Com
Prosecutors add extra charges to two who are charged in LI mortgage fraud with county legislator, dominatrix and her husband

Untangling Mortgage Fraud in Chicago Condo Buildings
Chicago Public Radio
Why did so many units go into foreclosure all at once? In some cases, the reason can be traced to mortgage fraud.

No Contest Plea Entered in Real Estate Fraud Case
Northbay Business Journal
Juan Carlos Alcala of Windsor pleaded no contest to nineteen felony counts and admitted three special allegations for defrauding real estate investors, money laundering and elder fraud.

Bedford Woman Sentenced to a Year in Prison for Mortgage Fraud
Plain Dealer
Sharon Cox, 49, of Bedford, was sentenced today to a year in prison for mortgage fraud involving money laundering, theft and receiving stolen property from August 2008 through March.

CITIZEN JOURNALISM: Mortgage Fraud High in Area
Washington Times
According to the FBI, Virginia, Maryland and the District are among the top 10 jurisdictions experiencing mortgage fraud.

Former Vegas Resident Charged with Mortgage Fraud in Nevada
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
A former Las Vegas resident has been charged with federal conspiracy and fraud charges for his involvement in a Nevada mortgage fraud scheme involving straw buyers and falsified mortgage loan documents...

Missouri Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud
Belleville News Democrat
A suburban St. Louis mortgage company operator has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for a mortgage fraud scheme.

12-Year Prison Term in Mortgage Swindle
Washington Post
A Maryland woman who stole millions from Washington area homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure is a "vulture" whose case should serve as a warning to other con artists...

Previous Articles

TRIAL COVERAGE

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.



More Trial Coverage

What's Your Opinion?

ORDER NOW!!

Blog Roll

TopOfBlogsReal Estate BlogsBlog Flux DirectoryBlog Directory & Search engineBlog Directory
Blogarama - The Blog DirectoryListed on BlogShares

© Copyright 2004-2009 Rachel M. Dollar

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.

TopOfBlogs Real Estate Blogs Blog Flux Directory Blog Directory & Search engine Blog Directory
Blogarama - The Blog Directory Listed on BlogShares