Monday, August 14, 2006
Seattle Mortgage Broker Pleads Guilty to Assisting Drug Dealers Launder Money
Todd Love, 48, Seattle, Washington pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle Wednesday August 9, 2006 to Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering. Love, a mortgage broker at Seattle Mortgage Advisors LLC , admitted that he assisted three drug dealers with investments in property, knowing that the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash used as the down payments were the proceeds of illegal drug dealing. Love faces up to twenty years in prison when sentenced on November 1, 2006. Love has agreed to forfeit $149,500 in cash as part of a $600,000 forfeiture.
According to the plea agreement, in September 2003, convicted drug kingpin Robert Kesling purchased a home for $722,869. Love served as mortgage broker on the transaction. Love $176,600 in cash for the down payment on the home. Love knew that Kesling made his income leading a drug organization that smuggled marijuana into the U.S. from Canada and cocaine into Canada from the U.S. To assist Kesling in hiding the origin of the money, Love had escrow agent and attorney Joel Manalang place the funds in his escrow account. Love created false documents indicating that the money was a gift to Kesling from his father. Love also created a letter from a local CPA firm claiming that Kesling was in the property management business and falsely indicated the firm had done his taxes for three years.
In a second transaction detailed in the plea agreement, Love assisted another accused drug dealer, Bernard R. Casey. Casey is an alleged drug dealer who worked under Joshua Macke. Macke replaced Kesling in the drug organization following Kesling’s arrest. In August 2005, Casey wanted to invest some of his drug proceeds in property. Love had Manalang purchase a cashiers check for $50, 485.70 to use as the down payment on some water view lots in Tacoma, Washington. Love created false documents alleging Casey was employed as VP of Field Sales at Seattle Video Conference Center. Love’s mother worked at the business and would falsely verify employment.
Finally in a third transaction, Love took several hundred thousand dollars in cash from Macke for future property investments. Love provided the cash to Manalang asking that it be placed in the escrow account. Fearing IRS scrutiny, Manalang did not deposit the cash. Love asked for $50,000 from the cache, which he then spent for his own expenses, knowing it was the proceeds of drug trafficking.
Manalang pleaded guilty to Money Laundering and will be sentenced on November 17, 2006. Kesling was sentenced in December 2005 to seventeen years in prison. Casey is scheduled to go to trial in October 2006 for Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering. Macke is scheduled to go to trial in September 2006 for Conspiracy to Import Marijuana, Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Marijuana, and Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering.
mortgage fraud
I love this blog. I makes me think twice before trusting the next person in a suit.
Posted by on 03/19 at 07:15 AM
True. You know, a suit won’t change the person. A human stays a human, no matter what, and many times suits were used just as a form of manipulation. Might sound silly, but lets think how many times when we went in an interview we wear a suit, or when someone knocks at our door to sell something-always wears a suit… so…
Posted by on 06/03 at 02:05 AM
I am fully satisfied with the post, It is not only interesting but also is a informative article. Can you please provide me some more links for similar articles.
Posted by on 05/29 at 12:29 AM
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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.
More Trial Coverage
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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 
