John Pereless, 42, Colts Neck, New Jersey, has been convicted of one count of second degree Conspiracy to Commit Theft by Deception, eight counts of second degree Theft by Deception, eight counts of fourth degree Securing Execution of Documents by Deception and eight counts of fourth degree Falsifying Records. The jury also returned a guilty verdict against John Pereless’
Continue Reading...Last July, Manhattan D.A. Robert Morganthau announced an indictment of the principals in a press release which declared that “AFG’s business model was focused solely on defrauding the lending banks of millions of dollars.”
MARI’s 12th Periodic Mortgage Fraud Case Report – Executive Summary – reports that “fraud continues to be a pervasive issue, growing and escalating in complexity. The market is attempting to recover from devastating financial losses and reputational harm due to the lack of controls, and denial and greed that enabled a fallacy of flourishing profits during the mortgage industry boom years. In 2009, we saw the beginning of a laser-focused effort to realign this industry back to the basics of
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United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch announced that they have formed and held the first meeting of the Rhode Island Mortgage Fraud Task Force, an initiative linking federal and state agencies in the fight against mortgage fraud.
Consisting of several federal and state agencies and working closely with local police departments, the task force will pool investigative and prosecutorial resources and target deceptive mortgage foreclosure
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Milton Retana, 46, Huntington Park, California, a man who preyed on Spanish-speaking investors with promises of hefty returns during the real estate bubble was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for bilking approximately 2,300 victims who suffered losses of approximately $33 milion. Retana was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner.
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Jason Vitulano, 44, Boca Raton, Florida, has pled guilty before U. S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud (Count 1) and one count of mail fraud (Count 12), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and 1341, respectively. Vitulano is being held in pre-trial detention pending sentencing, which has been scheduled for
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Anthony B. Ghio, 43, Stockton, California, has pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia to conspiring to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, California.
Ghio admitted in his guilty plea that he conspired with a group of real estate speculators
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William T. Bridge, 43, Cambria, California, was sentenced by United States District Judge William B. Shubb to 21 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, $1,057, 700.90 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, and a $60,000 fine for multiple counts of filing false tax returns and paying kickbacks in connection with real estate loan transactions. Continue Reading...
F. Jeffrey Miller, 49, Stanley, Kansas, a Kansas City builder, has been sentenced to 108 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering in a $5 million mortgage fraud scheme. Miller was tried and convicted in 2008 on one count of conspiracy, one count of money laundering and two counts of criminal contempt. Also sentenced was co-defendant
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Morton Daniel Bohn, 69, Tigard, Oregon, was sentenced after admitting guilt on federal charges of bank fraud and money laundering. The defendant was ordered to serve one year and one day in federal prison and pay restitution of $288,171. Bohn was ordered to report to the Bureau of Prisons on June 15, 2010.
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