Arthur Seaborne, Sarasota, Florida, a mortgage broker, was indicted on 11 counts of bank fraud in connection with a mortgage scam operated between March 2003 and July 2008.
Seaborne served as president of Southeast Capital Investors, Inc., a real estate investment trust and allegedly engaged in the business of marketing and selling unregistered securities in the form of Real Estate Investment Trust Note Agreements to individual investors, manager of Southeast Capital Advisors, LLC, a mortgage brokerage business allegedly marketing “no money down” residential purchase programs, manager of Southeast Capital Properties, LLC, a property management company, and president of Zip Line Properties, Inc., which allegedly formed Florida limited liability companies which held title to residential properties the purchase of which was handled by a fifth company, Southeast Capital Realty, LLC.
According to the indictment, the defendant used SC Investors to market and sell unregistered securities in the form of promissory notes. Seaborne raised funds via the sale of the promissory notes to be used as down payment loans to SC Advisors‘ clients. Seaborne then used SC Realty to identify and negotiate the purchase of residential properties, which the defendant intended to resell to individual clients of SC Advisors. Through Zip Line, Seaborne would form limited liability companies to hold title to the residential properties caused to be purchased by the defendant.
Furthermore, SC Advisors would prepare false and fraudulent loan applications for submission to lenders to obtain mortgages for its individual clients. Seaborne also concealed from the lenders the fact that the down payments were being borrowed from SC Investors, a material misrepresentation.
The properties referenced in the indictment include:
9011 63rd Avenue Drive, Bradenton, Florida, 34202;
3565 Blechnum Fern Lane, Sarasota, Florida, 34235;
5119 Brookmeade Drive, Sarasota, Florida, 34232;
9104 East 69th Avenue, Palmetto, Florida, 34221;
2139 Palm Avenue, Sarasota, Florida, 34231;
6543 Bikini Way, Sarasota, Florida, 34241;
3626 Calliandra Drive, Sarasota, Florida, 34232;
3635 Aloha Drive, Sarasota, Florida, 34232;
3983 Coleridge Lane, Sarasota, Florida, 34241;
4004 Crabtree Avenue, Sarasota, Florida, 34233; and
4304 11th Avenue East, Bradenton, Florida, 34208.
Trial is currently set for December 2012.