14 individuals linked to mortgage fraud operations that filed fraudulent loan applications, collected millions of dollars in fees and commissions, and caused millions of dollars in losses when the homes went into foreclosure, have been indicted. Two indictments outline schemes in which real estate professionals prepared mortgage applications that contained false information about borrowers’ income, employment, assets, and intent to occupy the properties.

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17 Defendants were arrested as part of an undercover New York operation, others charged with loan modification schemes that allegedly victimized over 240 distressed homeowners. 38 total defendants, in eight separate cases, have been indicted for allegedly engaging in various mortgage fraud scams that collectively defrauded lenders out of over $29 million in home mortgage loans, and victimized hundreds of homeowners. Among those charged are three lawyers, seven mortgage brokers, three real

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Douglas Skibicki, 41, Bethesda, Maryland, was charged in a superseding indictment on June 16, 2010, with mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and bankruptcy fraud, in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme in which he allegedly defrauded lenders, family and others of over $7.4 million. According to the 17 count superseding indictment, Skibicki was a mortgage originator

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Federal and local authorities arrested 13 individuals linked to mortgage fraud operations that filed fraudulent loan applications with several banks and other lenders, generated millions of dollars in loan fees and real estate commissions, and caused millions of dollars in losses when the homes went into foreclosure because the purchasers were unable to make their monthly payments.

The first indictment charges:

Rosa Amelia “Rosie”

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Last November, President Obama created the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force year to wage an aggressive, coordinated fight against financial crimes. One of the prime focuses we identified at the outset was combating mortgage fraud, and I am joined by several key partners in that fight today: IRS’s Criminal Investigation Deputy Director Sallie Cooper, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division Ken Jenkins, FTC Commissioner Edith Ramirez, Housing

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Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Housing and Urban Development Inspector General (HUD-OIG) Kenneth M. Donohue, and other members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force today announced the results of a nationwide takedown, Operation Stolen Dreams, which targeted mortgage fraudsters throughout the country and is the largest collective enforcement effort ever brought to bear in confronting mortgage fraud.

The sweep was organized by President Obama’s

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Stevie Perkale Lee, 38, Weddington, North Carolina, has entered a plea of guilty to two federal criminal counts filed in a criminal bill of information in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina. The counts against Lee charge that he, as President of “VP Companies USA,” and “Continue Reading...

On July 8, 2010, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) will stop accepting applications for mortgage broker, mortgage brokerage business, mortgage lender and correspondent mortgage lender licenses, so that current applications can be processed before October 1. Beginning October 1, 2010, Florida will begin participation in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, and all existing loan originators, brokers and lenders and mortgage business owners will be required to reapply for

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Jeffery Tye Brown, 50, Henderson, Nevada, was sentenced to prison following a plea of guilty to felony mortgage fraud in violation of NRS 205.372, a Category C felony, in connection with the operation of DB Financial Services, a foreclosure rescue business located in Henderson.

Las Vegas District Court Department 1 Judge Kenneth E. Cory sentenced Continue Reading...

Peter N. Price, 49, Hollywood, Florida, pled guilty to a criminal information charging him making false statements to HUD, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. In addition, Price agreed to make restitution to Stewart Title Guaranty, the victim of his fraud, in the amount of $1,608,246.57.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 27, 2010, at 1:30 p.m.

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