Heritage Homes Group, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based home builder that offers home financing, has settled Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers by advertising low-cost mortgages while hiding fees and not disclosing vital information about the true cost of the mortgages.
The Federal Housing Administration published a Mortgagee Letter reminding lenders participating in the agency’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program to make certain senior borrowers are fully informed of all their options when applying for reverse mortgages.
Aldo Joseph Baccala, Petaluma, California, who ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims more than $17 million, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison and ordered to pay a fine of $6.4 million at a hearing in Sonoma County, California.
Rodney Walker, 44, Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara, to wire fraud for his role in a scam whereby the defendant promised a standby letter of credit, which he could monetize into $100 million in loans.
Susanne Helbig, 49, formerly of Roanoke, Virginia, currently residing in Georgia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a variety of fraud charges associated with an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving straw buyers centered around properties on Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia.
Darryl Glasco, 55, Pendleton, New York, who was convicted of bank fraud, was sentenced to six months home detention and four years supervised release for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme wherein fraudulent appraisals were submitted to lenders inflating property values.
Cherron Marie Phillips, who also goes by the name of River Tali Bey, 43, Chicago, Illinois, was convicted by a federal jury after two days of testimony and found guilty of knowingly filing false liens – each in the amount of $100 billion – against the property of current and former federal employees.
Linda Sue Newcomb, 62, Madison Heights, Virginia, former manager of the Lynrocten Federal Credit Union, Lynchburg, Virginia, was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with embezzlement, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for allegedly originating fictitious loans, then selling those loans to credit union partners.
Joseph Gekko, 45, Yorba Linda, California, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. Gekko admitted that he had prepared fraudulent HUD-1 Settlement Statements, which not only falsified the purchase prices, but the true source of down payments.
Ronald Vernon Cupp, Santa Rosa, California, was convicted by a jury of running a mortgage elimination scheme wherein he charged homeowners up front fees in exchange for allegedly eliminating their mortgage.