Short Sale Fraud on the Rise

admin —  June 25, 2010 — 4 Comments

A warning has been issued to homeowners about an alarming rise in short sale fraud across California in a field “rife with scam artists”.  

A short sale is an arrangement in which a homeowner sells his or her home for less than the outstanding mortgage, with the consent of the lender.

Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. joined the California Department of Real Estate and the State Bar of California in

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On May 19, 2010, federal agents interrupted the closing on an allegedly fraudulent mortgage transaction and arrested the five defendants who were each charged with one or more counts of bank fraud in a five-count indictment returned a week before their arrest:

Daryl Fernandes, 45, and Obrian Fernandes,

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The two cases involving mortgage fraud in Ventura, California, name a total of 14 defendants, all of whom face potential sentences of hundreds of years in prison if they are convicted in the schemes that cumulatively helped unqualified and straw borrowers obtain tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent mortgage loans.

Peter Morris, a California licensed real estate broker, and other professionals working at Continue Reading...

A federal indictment in the Western District of North Carolina has charged ten individuals with various criminal counts including mortgage fraud conspiracy and bank bribery conspiracy has been unsealed upon the arrests of most of the defendants.

Drew Sharreff-El, A/K/A “Mack Ahizi”, 46, Charlotte, North Carolina, has been charged with one count alleging mortgage fraud

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Fifty-six individuals in the Northern District of California are facing mortgage fraud related charges as a result of Operation Stolen Dreams.

Nearly $44 million in losses were inflicted by the mortgage fraud schemes employed by the alleged fraudsters in the Northern District of California. Seven individuals in the District have pled guilty to mortgage fraud related crimes during the take-down that began on March 1. Two individuals have been sentenced.

The charges were announced

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Christopher B. Maselli, 38, North Providence, Rhode Island, a real estate attorney, has been indicted on charges he falsified bank and federal tax documents, and lied about his income and assets, in obtaining more than 1.5 million dollars in mortgages.

According to the indictment, between December 2007 and March 2009, Continue Reading...

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced the regional results of the nationwide takedown, Operation Stolen Dreams, which targeted mortgage fraudsters in the Eastern District of Missouri and throughout the country and is the largest collective enforcement effort ever brought to bear in confronting mortgage fraud.

The twelve mortgage fraud prosecutions in the Eastern District of Missouri between March 1, 2010, and June 17, 2010, as part of Operation

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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released its first analysis of suspicious activity reports (SARs) containing information about potential foreclosure rescue scams. The report, Loan Modification and Foreclosure Rescue Scams – Evolving Trends and Patterns in Bank Secrecy Act Reporting, involved an analysis of more than 3,500 SARs filed from 2004 through 2009, of which the great majority, 3,000, were filed last year. Additionally, FinCEN provided updated guidance to the

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Nine criminal Complaints have been unsealed charging 28 individuals with participating in various mortgage fraud scams that collectively sought to defraud lenders out of more than $5.5 million and involved more than 17 New Jersey properties.

Rodrigo Molina, a licensed real estate agent; Domingo Fuentes, an investor who owned multiple companies he used to purchase real estate

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George M. Eggleston, 63, Las Vegas, Nevada, has been charged with wire fraud and mail fraud in a foreclosure rescue scheme. A federal grand jury returned the indictment on June 10, 2010 and was unsealed after Eggleston’s arrest. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of all property and proceeds obtained directly or indirectly in the scheme.

According to the Continue Reading...