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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 Smith Dollar, PC, is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California. Email Ms. Dollar
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Steve C. Middleton, 46, Overland Park, Kansas, and Jared Minor, 36, Belton, Missouri, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, four counts of bank fraud, three counts of money laundering and one count of criminal contempt of court.
– Doing business as Somerset Homes, Middleton obtained loans and built homes in the greater Kansas City area.
– Minor was a construction contractor who worked with Middleton.
– As a result of fraud, Middleton received more than $1 million from Bank of the Prairie.
– On May 17, 2006, Middleton was indicted in another federal case. His co-defendants were F. Jeffrey Miller, Todd Earnshaw, Brian Rouse, Angela Parenza, Elizabeth Hessel, James Moser, and Lanny Ross. Middleton was released on bond after agreeing to comply with the court’s order prohibiting him from engaging in illegal activities. He and Minor violated the court’s order by defrauding the Bank of the Prairie and continuing to receive the proceeds of the fraud.
– By submitting false and fraudulent loan documents, Middleton and Minor caused the bank to make loans it would not otherwise have made.
– The defendants presented to the bank a copy of a $10,000 check from Minor to Somerset homes, representing it to be a down payment on the purchase of an $823,900 residence at 18882 Travis Lane, Stilwell, Kansas. In fact, no down payment was made because Middleton returned the check to Minor.
– Submitted to the bank an amendment to the sales contract falsely representing that the purchase price was increased from $823,900 to $1,124,000 and a document falsely stating that Minor had qualified for a $950,000 loan at 7.5 percent interest. A month later, they executed a change in the terms of the agreement to increase the amount borrowed from $659,100 to $899,200.
In the money laundering counts, they are charged with engaging in a series of monetary transactions involving a $656,000 construction loan, a $242,000 construction loan and $2.3 million from the sale of 1821 Travis Lane, Stilwell, Kansas.
In a forfeiture count, the government seeks a money judgment for $1,424,000 in loan proceeds the defendants obtained from Bank of the Prairie, $22,000 in cash and a residence at 14910 Benson in Overland Park, Kan., which is valued at approximately $289,000.
The crimes are alleged to have occurred at various times in 2005, 2006 and 2007 in Johnson County, Kansas.
When I see or read these kind of news, one thing comes to my mind how that bank gave loan to them without a proper inquiry???
Posted by on 07/23 at 08:37 PM
The thing that boggles my mind is that Miller was indicted twice in 2006 and this is the 2nd indictment against Middleton, yet both are still on the street and free to continue this sort of activity. How many indictments are needed before the criminal is locked up until trial??
Hello, Rachel and Anne,
Thank-you both for providing coverage of this much anticipated trial. I have been searching all over the local news...and cudos to you...this is the best coverage!
Posted by on 11/20 at 04:29 AM
What happened to Todd Earnshaw? He is selling foreclosed properties in Stilwell.
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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...
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...
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...
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...
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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.
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 
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