Friday, November 12, 2004
Twenty indicted in Austin Texas Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Federal Fraud and Money Laundering Indictment Alleges Lenders Defrauded of more than $15 Million.
A federal grand jury in Austin, Texas returned a 16-count indictment against 20 Austin-area residents, charging them with participating in a fraud and money laundering scheme that defrauded federally insured financial institutions and mortgage lenders of more than $15 million.
According to the indictment, from March 27, 2001 to January 23, 2004, the defendants participated in a real estate flip-for-profit scheme where properties in Central Texas were purchased at or near market value, then sold to unqualified buyers at artificially inflated prices. The defendants collected large sums of cash while fraudulently inducing lenders to fund the real estate loans based upon materially false statements, representations and promises provided by the defendants.
Those charged include:
Firooz Deljavan, owner and operator of Austin Realtors Network, Inc;
Rosemary Rios, wife of Firooz Deljavan;
William Allan Craig, III, attorney;
Thomas Martin Henry, owner, Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc.;
Mark Douglas Kissner, Vice President, Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc.;
Stacey L. Leifheit, loan processor, Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc.;
Mohammad H. Gharbi, real estate broker;
Maryam Gharbi, daughter of Mohammad Gharbi, real estate agent;
John Ogilbee, real estate appraiser trainee;
Kato Sherman, Jr., President of KSJ & Co. and real estate appraiser;
Behrouz Deljavan, brother of Firooz Deljavan;
Donald C. King, Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc. client;
Michael R. Persinger, Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc. client;
Scott B. Ringgenberg, brother-in-law of Firooz Deljavan;
Helen Rios Ringgenberg, sister of Rosemary Rios;
Matthew C. Nagy, client of Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc.;
Ramin Masoumi, client of Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc.;
Kenneth W. Hudson, client of Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc.;
Majid Rashidi, client of Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc.; and,
Mehdi Haghshenas, client of Guardian Mortgage Services, Inc.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
mortgage fraud
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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 
