Mortgage Fraud Blog http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/index/ Central clearinghouse for information on recent mortgage fraud information, fraud schemes and indictments. en staff@mortgagefraudblog.com Copyright 2008 2008-05-09T15:13:00Z Loan Originator Sentenced For Straw Buyer Scheme http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/loan_originator_sentenced_for_straw_buyer_scheme/ Mortgage Fraud, Florida Marlene Dinnall a/k/a Marlene Henry, Marlene Angela Hall, and Marlene Morris, 48, Miramar, Florida was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment by United States District Court Judge James I. Cohn. Dinnall was sentenced for her participation on a mortgage and mail and wire fraud scheme that resulted in approximately $1.8 million in fraudulently obtained mortgage loans. At sentencing, the defendant was also ordered to pay restitution to National City Mortgage Company, a lender that …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-09T15:13:00Z Idaho Dept of Finance Issues Shuts Down Bait And Switch Scheme http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/idaho_dept_of_finance_issues_shuts_down_bait_and_switch_scheme/ Mortgage Fraud, Idaho Assurity Financial Services, LLC, was issued an Order to Cease and Desist by the Idaho Department of Finance for sending mailers to Idaho residents entitled “Refund Notice,” suggesting that recipients’ current adjustable-rate mortgage may have been the subject of errors in principal and interest calculations. The mailer indicates that “A Refund Audit Specialist will be able to help you determine your correct principal and interest payment and assist you in collecting any refund that you …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-09T10:56:00Z Virigina Man Pleads Guilty To Mortgage Fraud http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/virigina_man_pleads_guilty_to_mortgage_fraud/ Mortgage Fraud John Andreas Tsiaoushis, 40, Alexandria, Virginia, pled guilty to a two-count information charging him with mail fraud affecting a financial institution and giving false testimony at a hearing in the United States Bankruptcy Court. Tsiaoushis faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, 5 years supervised release, and a fine of approximately $7,600,000 when he is sentenced on July 18, 2008. As part of the guilty plea, Tsiaoushis agreed to the entry …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-08T15:15:00Z New Yorkers Net 2 Years For Loan Misreps http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/new_yorkers_net_2_years_for_loan_misreps/ Mortgage Fraud, New York Matthew J. Kupic, 38, and Francis Thomas Disonell, 38, both of Clifton Park, New York, were sentenced before the Honorable Gary L. Sharpe in United States District Court in Albany, N.Y., for their participation in a mortgage and tax fraud scheme. Both defendants were sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 24 months. Judge Sharpe further ordered the defendants to pay restitution in the amount of $887,311.57 to the victim banks, and ordered that …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-08T12:17:00Z 2 Guilty Pleas In Straw Buyer Scheme http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/2_guilty_pleas_in_straw_buyer_scheme/ Mortgage Fraud, Ohio Aryeh Schottenstein, 34, Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and Shawn A. Griffin, 38, also of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

Schottenstein and Griffin were indicted along with Donald F. Green, Jeffrey Lieberman and George “Terry” Jordan for a mortgage fraud …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-07T13:09:00Z Woman Sentenced To 2 Years For Mortgage Fraud http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/woman_sentenced_to_2_years_for_mortgage_fraud/ Mortgage Fraud, Florida Yolanda Crawley, 59, West Palm Beach, Florida was sentenced to two years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for wire fraud arising from a mortgage fraud scheme.  Judge Motz also ordered Crawley to pay restitution of $200,000.

According to her guilty plea, from January 2005, continuing until December 2006, Crawley worked with David Lincoln, Rachel Donegan, and her son, Shawn Green to submit mortgage …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-05T13:07:00Z 2 Plead Guilty In Scheme To Defraud Lenders http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/2_plead_guilty_in_scheme_to_defraud_lenders/ Mortgage Fraud, Maryland Kolawole Aminu, 45, a Nigerian national, pleaded guilty to conspiring to make a false statement in connection with a scheme to defraud a mortgage lender. Oyekunle Ikudayisi, 39, White Plains, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charge on April 23, 2008.

According to court documents (their plea agreements are currently sealed), Aminu and Ikudayisi conspired with others to purchase properties from a company owned by a co-conspirator.  Aminu and …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-05T12:55:00Z Title Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Misreps http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/title_company_owner_pleads_guilty_to_misreps/ Mortgage Fraud, Ohio Steven C. Gittinger, 50, Cincinnati, Ohio, pleaded guilty in United States District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of money laundering for his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme.

According to a statement of facts filed with his guilty plea, Gittinger was a principal of Classic Title Agency, Inc. and helped close real estate sales. Between June 2003 and 2005, Gittinger received business …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-05T12:33:00Z 4 Indicted In Multi Million Dollar Fraud Scheme http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/4_indicted_in_multi_million_dollar_fraud_scheme/ Mortgage Fraud, New York Dominick Devito and Robert Didonato were charged in a superceding indictment with participating in a wide-ranging scheme to commit mortgage fraud, and Devito, Didonato, John Liscio, and Louis Cordasco, Jr. were charged with participating in an associated insurance fraud scheme. Devito is also charged with obstruction of justice.

According to the superseding Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court: From January 2002 through November 2004, Devito was the leader …

Read More...]]> 2008-05-02T14:12:01Z FinCEN Report Warns of Methods and Trends in Residential Real Estate Industry http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/fincen_report_warns_of_methods_and_trends_in_residential_real_estate_indust/ Mortgage Fraud The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today released the latest in a series of reports, which are based upon analysis of suspicious activity reports (SARs) provided by the financial industry. Today’s report, Suspected Money Laundering in the Residential Real Estate Industry: An Assessment Based Upon Suspicious Activity Report Filing Analysis identifies several transactional typologies and associated illicit activities that may be perpetrated by individuals or groups seeking to launder funds via residential property transactions.

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