Monday, February 25, 2008
Ohio Restaurant Owner And Agent Indicted On Fraud Charges
Gihan Ahmed Ismail Zalat aka Gigi Zalat, 40, and Scott McCann, 45, both of Columbus, Ohio, were separately indicted for a mortgage fraud scheme involving several Ohio properties. Zalat and McCann are charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft, money laundering and receiving stolen property.
Zalat is a former co-owner of the Happy Greek restaurant, South Campus Gateway, Ohio. McCann is a real-estate agent and former mortgage broker. The scheme took place between 2005 and 2007, and involved false documentation and misrepresentations in loan applications, property flips, the use of inflated appraisals and unauthorized kickbacks disguised as construction monies for home improvement. The 6 Ohio properties included in the indictment (partially redacted) are:
XXX9 Loch Levin;
XXX8 Willow Bend Lane;
XXX8 Coldwater Drive;
XXX2 Sierra Drive;
XXX7 Royal County Down;
XXX5 Coachmen; and
XXX2 Grennan Woods, all of the Dublin and Powell area, Ohio.
According to the indictment, the monies obtained in the scheme were laundered through oversea shell corporations in an effort to disguise the origin of the funds.
mortgage fraud
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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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