Daniel Michie, 33, Marathon, Florida, had his name added to the deeds of two lots owned by his 68 year old mother without her permission. He then obtained a mortgage for $137,000 on the property, again without her permission. Trial is set to begin February 20, 2012.

The victim discovered this when she went to the tax collector’s office to pay her taxes on the property. She reported it to the Sheriff’s Office on July 16, 2010 after consulting with her attorney.

She also reported discovering a reverse mortgage taken out on her primary residence on Sunset Drive, Monroe County, Florida, that she was not aware of and did not give permission for. She said her son, who’d taken out the mortgage, hadn’t made payments on it and the bank was now foreclosing on the home.

She told the detective her son and his girlfriend had been living with her at the residence for some time. She said they frequently intimidated and frightened her; she said they would not allow her to use parts of her own residence and she reported the house was dirty with dishes and rotten food in the sink; she said the girlfriend’s dog defecates on the floor and it isn’t cleaned up for days. Victim Advocate Carol Albury-Johnson assisted the victim with obtaining a restraining order against her son for domestic violence.

The Notary Public who was used to conduct the deed changes and the mortgage documents was interviewed. She admitted to notarizing the documents even though the victim wasn’t present to sign them. Michie‘s girlfriend was also interviewed; she said she was present while many of the fraudulent documents were signed. She said Michie signed his mother’s name and told her he had permission to do so.

Warrants were issued for Michie and he was arrested on charges of mortgage fraud, exploitation of the elderly and forgery.

Detective Mark Maison conducted the investigation.

Anthony F. Cutaia, 65, Boynton Beach, Florida, was sentenced in federal court.  U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley sentenced Cutaia to 51 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release for his role in a real estate ponzi scheme.  

Cutaia had pled guilty in July 2011 to Count 2 of a Criminal Information filed in June 2011, which charged him with mail fraud in connection with his participation in a real estate investment scheme from 2003 to 2006, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section, 1341.  According to the filed Information and statements made during the plea hearing, Cutaia was the managing member and beneficial owner of CMG Property Investment Group, LLC, which purportedly engaged in commercial real estate investment.  Cutaia was also the host of “Talk About Mortgages and Real Estate,” a television and radio program.

According to the factual basis in the plea agreement, from March 2003 through December 2006, Cutaia entered into Contract Participation Agreements with investors.  These contracts stated that investors’ money would be used solely to purchase real estate contracts in Palm Beach and Broward Counties and that CMG would not collect commissions or fees until the properties were sold and a profit was made.  In fact, however, Cutaia allegedly invested little of the investors’ money in real estate and instead used the investors’ money to make payments to pre-existing investors and to pay his own business and personal expenses.     

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Tom Grady, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announced the sentence. 

Mr. Ferrer commended the efforts of the FBI and the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation for their efforts in the investigation and prosecution of this case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emalyn H. Webber. 

David Lam, 42, Parkland, Florida, a real estate agent, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra for his participation in mortgage fraud schemes relating to properties in the Versailles development in Wellington, Florida.

Lam was charged and pled guilty to charges arising in four separate indictments.  In all, he pled guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and three counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h).

To date, five co-defendants have pled guilty and four have been sentenced.

Defendant Carl Alexander, 45, Parkland, Florida, pled guilty on October 5, 2011 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h).  He was sentenced on January 6, 2012 before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 48 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.  The Court also ordered defendant Alexander to pay $3,256,724 in restitution. 

Defendant Carol Asbury, 59, Lake Worth, Florida, an attorney and title agent, pled guilty on September 9, 2011 to two counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h).  Asbury was charged and pled guilty to charges arising in two indictments, both of which alleged mortgage fraud in the Versailles development.  Asbury was sentenced on November 18, 2011 before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 30 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.  She was also ordered to pay $6,510,291 in restitution

Defendant Patrick Brinson, 34, Miami, Florida, pled guilty on September 7, 2011 to two counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h).  Brinson pled guilty to charges arising in two indictments, one of which alleged mortgage fraud in Versailles and one of which alleged a separate mortgage fraud scheme in Miami.  Brinson was sentenced on November 29, 2011 before U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz to 78 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.  A restitution hearing is scheduled before Judge Seitz for February 17, 2012.   

Defendant Pamela Higgins, a mortgage broker who lived in Arizona at the time of the offense, pled guilty on November 4, 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and financial institution fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 1349, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 1956(h).  Higgins is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra on February 10, 2012.

Defendant Victoria Wilson, 30, Hollywood, Florida, a mortgage broker from  pled guilty on August 19, 2011 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. Wilson was sentenced on November 30, 2011 before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 24 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release.  Wilson was ordered to pay $1,655,466 in restitution. 

According to court documents, in all four of the Versailles-related indictments, the defendants used straw buyers to submit false documentation to various mortgage lenders substantially inflating the purchase price of the properties.  As part of the conspiracy, double HUD-1 Settlement Statements were prepared.  One set with the real price was provided to the seller and another set with the inflated price was provided to the lender.  The difference between the real price and the inflated price was either made to appear as if it were a debt owed to business entities controlled by the defendants and their co-conspirators,  or was made to appear as profits to the seller.  The fraudulent loan proceeds were then laundered through multiple accounts to conceal the source and distribution of the money and were ultimately used for the benefit of the defendants and their co-conspirators.  In sum, the schemes alleged in the four indictments to which Lam pled guilty involved more than $15 million in mortgage loans on 12 Versailles properties, and more than $5 million in fraudulent loan proceeds. 

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation Division, Michael K. Fithen, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer, Florida’s Department of Financial Services, Addy M. Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, announced the guilty plea.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Florida’s Department of Financial Services, FDLE, U.S. Secret Service, and the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force.  The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Evans, Ellen Cohen, Carolyn Bell and Armando Rosquete.