Sharon Lynn Shaw, 67, San Jose, California, pleaded guilty in federal court to bank fraud and theft by bank officer. Shaw admitted that she used the names, Social Security numbers, and other personal information belonging to her parents, without their knowledge or authorization, to create false and fraudulent loan applications which she submitted to her employer Wells Fargo Bank.
Minerva Sanchez, 48, Fremont, California, a licensed real estate agent, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to 21 months in prison for her role in a short sale fraud scheme.
Fraudulent investment property schemes are on the rise in the form of straw borrowers, abnormally high appraisals, evasion of purchase guidelines and large numbers of purchased properties. Real estate investment scams typically spread by word-of-mouth and require people to invest large sums of money in investment properties. These types of scam promise a large increase in the value of the property resulting high returns or unusually high interest on contributed funds.
Michael T. Hardman has been convicted in an investment fraud scheme. Hardman was found guilty of two counts of grand theft for defrauding more than 30 Floridians in a fraudulent promissory note scheme.
Nadia Kuzmenko, 35, Loomis, California, Peter Kuzmenko, 36, Sacramento, California, Edward Shevtsov, 51, Sacramento, and Aaron New, 39, Sacramento, were found guilty by a federal jury of multiple counts of mail and wire fraud associated with their involvement in a straw buyer mortgage fraud scheme that cost financial institutions approximately $16 million.
Jason Springer, an attorney, and Rick Makohoniuk, a real estate agent, were both convicted of bank fraud after an eight-day jury trial. Springer was convicted of seven counts of bank fraud, and Makohoniuk was convicted of one count of bank fraud, in connection with a short sale/property flipping scheme.
Gary Patton Hall Jr., 49, Tifton, Georgia, a former bank president and CEO, was charged for his role in a bank fraud scheme in which he is alleged to have hidden under-performing and at-risk loans from the bank and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, among others.
Mark Gardner, 28, Osteen, Florida, and Tammie Lynn Cline, 32, Leominster, Massachusetts, have been charged with one count of conspiracy, five counts of wire fraud, and four counts of money laundering for their alleged role in convincing time share owners to pay a fee in exchange for a prospective buyer.
James Sotolongo, Christopher Mencis, and Stephanie Musselwhite were sentenced for their roles in a complex mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded lenders out of more $35 million.
Andrew Avery, 39, has been arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud and mail fraud stemming from an alleged investment fraud scheme. Avery fled the country, but was extradited from Thailand and arrested on January 26, 2015. He is currently in federal custody.