Richard Nazabal, 51, a Rancho Cucamonga, California, real estate agent, was sentenced to nine years in state prison and ordered to pay restitution to his victims as well as Franchise Tax Board. The total amount of restitution is still being determined.
Nazabal pleaded guilty to four counts of grand theft and one count of state income tax evasion.
The Franchise
Continue Reading...
Cheryl Brooke, 52, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme in which she and her conspirators offered to help financially vulnerable individuals save their homes from foreclosure, and instead defrauded homeowners and mortgage lenders. Judge Chasanow also
Continue Reading...
The scam artist offers to act as an intermediary between you and your lender to negotiate a repayment plan or loan modification and may even “guarantee” to save your home from foreclosure. In reality, the scammer may pocket your money and leave you in worse shape on your loan.
Benjamin Osmanson, 30, California and Sarita, Texas, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering related to his scheme to defraud mortgage lenders by submitting false loan applications in the names of “investors.” Osmanson was arrested in October 2008 in Texas. His codefendant Jillian
Continue Reading...
George Michael Perez, 33, Dundalk, Maryland, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and arson in connection with a scheme to defraud the law firm where he was employed, (the law firm concentrated its practice in real estate law, and would receive and disburse substantial sums of money while handling the sales of foreclosed properties) and to failure to appear at a federal hearing
According to his guilty plea, in January 2004 a law firm
Continue Reading...
Last week agents…arrested three people involved in a refinancing scam, some of whom also were involved in a property reassessment scam that was sent out to property owners around Lake County and the rest of the state.
Richard Allison, 38, Camp Springs, Maryland, an attorney and employee of the U.S. Census Bureau, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus to 18 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme which falsely promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit. Judge Titus also
Continue Reading...
Charles E. Townsend, 39, Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty in United States District Court here to one count of money laundering in connection with his involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme that exaggerated property values to out of state investors in order to secure funding for the purchase of properties in primarily low income neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio. Townsend
Continue Reading...
Henry “Uche” Obilo, 30, Miami, Florida, was sentenced to 88 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role as a leader in a home equity line of credit fraud scheme that has been linked to more than $36 million in attempted fraud and almost $11 million in actual losses. To date, investigators have identified more than 180 victims. Obilo was ordered to
Continue Reading...
Michael K. Lewis, 57, Takoma Park, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to 78 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud arising from a scheme in which he and his conspirators offered to help financially vulnerable individuals save their homes from foreclosure, and instead defrauded homeowners and mortgage lenders. Continue Reading...
