Thursday, February 21, 2008

Title Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud In Vermont

Nazzara Bernardo, 60, Manlius, New York, pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to a charge that he conspired to commit wire fraud. The Judge released Bernardo on conditions pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

On January 3, 2008, a federal grand jury in Burlington, Vermont, returned a two-count indictment charging Richard Shumway, who now lives in Brewerton, New York, with wire fraud and bank fraud. Shumway has pled not guilty to the indictment. Both charges stem from the activities of TSC Funding, a South Burlington-based mortgage brokerage business Shumway owned and operated in the 1990s until 2005. According to the indictment, Shumway skimmed several thousand dollars from each of more than 200 loans he brokered by means of payments taken outside of closing, without the knowledge of the borrower. As part of the scheme, Shumway arranged for Gerald Mullaney, formerly a licensed real estate appraiser in the Albany, New York area, to prepare falsified appraisals for the homes the borrowers were purchasing. This enabled Shumway to induce the borrower to take out a larger loan than necessary to buy the home, and also enabled Shumway to divert some of the proceeds of each loan to his own benefit. Shumway misled borrowers into believing the extra fees were to be paid to the lending institution to obtain a lower interest rate.

Nazzara Bernardo owned the title company that performed the title work on the mortgages that Shumway was brokering, and also served as escrow agent for the lending banks. In court, Bernardo admitted that he had conspired with Shumway to help divert some of the proceeds of each mortgage loan to Shumway without the borrower’s knowledge. Bernardo caused funds to be paid over to Shumway other than as stated in the documentation required by federal law to be given to the borrower at the loan closing.

Bernardo faces up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The actual sentence will be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.

Gerald Mullaney has already pled guilty to bank fraud and is awaiting sentencing.

mortgage fraud

1. Gosh as if buying a home isn’t complicated enough.  I sure hope the government will get serious about imposing stricter regulations on these types of slimy, unethical practices.  Maybe that will be the silver lining in the housing meltdown.

   Posted by  on  02/21  at  01:31 PM

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Today's News

Some Sources require Registration.   Marco Island Man Arrested in Ohio on Grand Theft Charge Naples News A man who claimed he was a broker is accused of bilking a long-time family friend out of more than $130,000. 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. Previous Articles

TRIAL COVERAGE

Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty. Follow Anne on Twitter. Thursday, February 18, 2010 F. Jeffrey Miller Trial - 1 Convicted, 3 Acquitted The jury deliberated for approximately 3 days after receiving their jury instructions. They asked one question: Does ‘common sense' allow us to deduce what the banks may or may not been influenced by in order to make a loan? Judge Julie Robinson responded by admonishing the jurors to read all of the instructions. The jury presented its' verdict... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... 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... Read More... More Trial Coverage

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All Foreclosure Information and Resources Housing Storm Calculated Risk Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter Home Gain Blog Rain City Guide Real Estate Tomato Blood Hound Blog Appraiser Active Fraud, Phishing and Financial Misdeeds The Collar - US News and World Report Georgia Bankruptcy Blog Fighting Fraud Newsday Real LI Matrix