Michael P. Bernick, 51, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a former bank director, was sentenced in federal court to 144 months of imprisonment on his conviction on nine counts of misapplication and theft of funds by a bank director. Bernick did not complete any loan applications, sign notes, or provide security for the monetary advances, yet received more than $350,000.
Daniel Cardillo, 51, Wildwood, New Jersey, admitted defrauding a financial institution as part of a mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and straw buyers to make illegal profits on over-developed condominiums.
Aleksandr Kravchenko, 36, King County, Washington, who fled to Moldova, in Eastern Europe before being indicted by a federal grand jury for 55 loans fraudulently obtained from Westsound Bank, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to five years in prison.
Carmen Johnson, 48, Gambrills, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George Jerrod Hazel to 57 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy, wire fraud and making a false statement on a loan application, arising from two residential mortgage fraud schemes.
Michael David Scott, 51, Mansfield, Massachusetts, a former real estate agent/developer and two out-of-state recruiters pleaded guilty to wire and bank fraud charges in connection with a multi-year, multi-property mortgage fraud scheme in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dwayne Onque, 47, Belleville, New Jersey, Mashon Onque, 44, East Orange, New Jersey, and Nancy Wolf-Fels, 58, Toms River, New Jersey, were sentenced for their respective roles in conspiring to defraud financial institutions as part of a $15 million mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and straw buyers to make illegal profits on overbuilt condos.
Carlton P. Cabot, 52, Stamford, Connecticut, and Timothy J. Kroll, 44, New Hope, Pennsylvania, – the former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Cabot Investment Properties LLC, respectively – were arrested for allegedly participating in a scheme to defraud investors in numerous real estate investments by misappropriating over $17 million to pay for personal and business expenses and covering up their fraud with manipulated financial statements.
Five of the eleven defendants charged in connection with a scheme involving straw buyers and the development of Seven Falls, a golf course and luxury residential community in Henderson County, North Carolina, have been sentenced to prison.
Grady Wayne Fricks, 65, Nashville, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges arising out of a scheme to defraud Cornerstone Community Bank, Dalton, Georgia, using false appraisals, settlement statements and misrepresentations to qualify for more than a million dollars in loans.
First Tennessee Bank, N.A., Memphis, Tennessee, has agreed to pay the United States $212.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Federal Housing Administration that did not meet applicable requirements.