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

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Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Ringleader of Major Bank Fraud Sentenced to 12 Years

Jacob Kim, 53, Palisades Park, New Jersey, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for orchestrating a bank fraud scheme involving millions of dollars of fraudulent home equity and business lines of credit. U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan also ordered Kim to make restitution in the amount of $10,485,114, representing the verifiable actual losses to the banks.

Kim pleaded guilty on July 28, 2008, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Kim, who was president of American Macro Growth (AMG) in Palisades Park, was indicted in June 2007 along with four AMG employees and eight AMG clients. Kim was a fugitive from justice until he was arrested on May 5 while taking swings at the Alley Pond Golf Center in Queens, N.Y. The arrest capped off an intensive fugitive hunt that involved law enforcement personnel from the FBI, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

At his plea hearing, Kim admitted that he engaged in a conspiracy with AMG employees and clients to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in home equity and business lines of credit from at least 16 different lenders in northern New Jersey between February 2004 and November 2005. Kim specifically admitted receiving $59,519 in commission payments from one AMG client for assisting the client in obtaining lines of credit from 10 different banks, which totaled approximately $1.35 million, by using the same property as collateral for each of the loans. Kim also admitted that he obtained falsified income tax returns and submitted those returns to the banks on behalf of his clients. He further admitted instructing his employees in the means and methods of perpetrating the scheme.

Kim admitted that AMG and its clients executed the scheme by closing on multiple home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, in a short period of time so that the earlier lenders’ security interests would not be publicly recorded at the time that later lenders closed on subsequent loans. The scheme effectively stripped lenders of security for the loans.

In sentencing Kim, Judge Sheridan noted that Kim drew more than 20 people into his scheme. The Judge stated that Kim “also drew his son and former wife into the scheme” which the Judge termed “reprehensible.” He labeled Kim the “ringleader” of an “outrageous scheme” and stated that he “conned financial institutions” and did so in a deliberate and calculated manner. The Judge also found that Kim “turned his crime into a business, rented space, recruited brokers” and did so for more than a year. He also stated that the “nature and circumstances of the offense are very serious.” The Judge also said that Kim instructed other employees of AMG to shred documents after learning of the FBI investigation and this reflected “a clear effort to destroy evidence and obstruct justice.”

Sixteen other individuals are scheduled to be sentenced in connection with the scheme between now and Jan. 7. They include four former AMG employees, 11 former clients, and Jacob Kim’s current wife, who pleaded guilty to helping Kim avoid arrest by law enforcement.

In formulating Kim’s sentence, Judge Sheridan included enhancements for obstruction of justice for the destruction of documents and computer evidence, and for the number of victims and Kim’s status as an organizer and leader of the fraud.

The victims of the scheme include Banco Popular, Bank of America, The Bank of New York, Citibank, Commerce Bank, Fleet Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, HSBC Bank, Hudson United Bank, North Fork Bank, PNC Bank, Sovereign Bank, Wachovia Bank, Washington Mutual Bank, Wells Fargo Bank and Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.

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Posted by Staff Reporter on 12/09/08 at 01:09 AM
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Today's News

Some Sources require Registration.

 

Mortgage Fraud Risk Index Jumps 11 Percent, According to Verisk Analytics Subsidiary Interthinx
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The prosecution and defense rested Thursday in the mortgage fraud cases against Teresa Marie WIlson and Angelo Surveo Williams.

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A Wyoming woman is facing felony charges accusing her of stealing her sister's identity to obtain a mortgage...then defaulting on that mortgage, leaving taxpayers on the hook.

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In San Francisco, Mr. Russoniello said he is trying to crack down on cases like mortgage fraud, though he doesn't have the budget to hire additional white-collar prosecutors.

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During the real estate boom two years ago, some units were going for a half million dollars. Now some are short selling for just 50 grand.

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A developer and nine other people, including a former salsa singer, have been charged in an alleged $14 million mortgage fraud in Puerto Rico...

Strodtman Jury Selected in Mortgage Fraud Trial
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Attorneys will deliver opening statements this morning in the trial of Mark Strodtman, who is accused of bilking homeowners in a mortgage scheme years ago.

FHA Digging Out After Loans Sour
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Most banks rejected Ms. DeForte because her debt level was too high and her credit score too low. But Lend America put Ms. DeForte into a $402,000 loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration...

Mortgage Fraud Probe Nets 105 Across State
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At least one local man is among 105 people arrested across the state following a nine-month investigation into organized mortgage fraud.

Mortgage Fraud Increases
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The number of frauds involving professional advisors, such as accountants and lawyers, has increased from two to four since March 2008.

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.



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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.

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