Six family members are the subjects of a Colorado statewide grand jury 37-count indictment for using their status in the real estate industry to perpetrate a fraud-for-profit mortgage fraud scheme. The family is accused of manipulating straw buyers to buy and sell properties destined for foreclosure.
Jimmy Hitchcock, 43, Clemmons, North Carolina, former NFL football player, was sentenced on Tuesday, September 23, 2014, to serve 46 months in federal prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, for his role in a multi-million mortgage fraud conspiracy. Hitchcock and his conspirators used false documents to support mortgage transactions and even recruited a bank insider to assist in the scheme.
Terrence Matthew Brown, also known as Terry Brown, 49, Round Rock, Texas, was sentenced in federal court for his role in a $2.7 million mortgage fraud scheme. The scheme involved Brown buying homes at inflated prices, obtaining mortgage loans by fraud at the inflated amounts, and receiving kickbacks from the excess loan proceeds without the lenders’ knowledge.
Annika Boas, 37, Mount Rainier, Maryland, was convicted on September 19, 2014, of conspiracy, wire fraud and making a false statement on a loan application, arising from a residential mortgage fraud scheme.
Hubert Rotteveel, 52, Dixon, California, was convicted by a federal jury of one count of mail fraud affecting a financial institution relating to his role in a mortgage fraud scheme. The defendant and his conspirators inflated the values of 13 properties then worked with loan officers to provide false information to lenders about the income and liabilities of the buyers.
Andrew Lucas, 37, the former mayor of Manalapan, New Jersey, was convicted at trial on charges related to his acquisition of farmland in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The jury found that Lucas provided falsified tax returns, including a falsified tax return for a relative whose name was also on the loan application, as well as falsely reported that he had a total of $210,000 in cash.
Matthew Wada, 36, New York, New York, and Jennifer York, 27, Suffern, New York, have been indicted for engaging in an apartment rental scam that defrauded more than 20 victims – many of whom were moving to New York City for the first time – out of approximately $60,000 dollars.
Howard Drossner, 53, Ambler, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 40 months in prison for conspiring to defraud FirstPlus Financial Group Inc., a Texas-based financial services company, which had been targeted for extortionate takeover and looting by a group led by Lucchese organized crime family member Nicodemo S. Scarfo.
Selim Zherka, 46, Somers, New York, was indicted by a federal grand jury in White Plains for submitting multiple false loan applications to banks, tax fraud, wire fraud, and witness tampering. Zherka allegedly obtained over $146 million in loans from three banks for the purchase and/or refinancing of apartment house complexes by lying about the purchase prices, the down payments, his assets, income, and tax returns.
Steven E. Jones, 56, a family court judge, and four co-defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for defrauding over 22 people of millions in an investment fraud scheme involving real estate transactions. As part of his plea agreement with the government, Jones agreed to step down from the bench and surrender his law license to the State Bar of Nevada.