Archives For advance fee scam

$1.7 Million Advance Fee Scam Charged

Rachel Dollar —  October 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

James Thomas, 44, of Villa Rica, Georgia, was arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering arising from an alleged advance fee fraud scheme involving $1.7 million.  Thomas was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 15, 2015.  

According to the U.S. Attorney, the charges, and other information presented in court: Between 2008 and 2011, Thomas portrayed his firm, Trilateral Capital and Development LLC (“Trilateral”), as a reputable and well established private equity company that had successfully loaned millions of dollars for real estate development projects. Trilateral’s website and marketing materials contained fraudulent misrepresentations about the firm’s past real estate deals.  Thomas also misrepresented Trilateral’s finances and on least one occasion e-mailed a fraudulent bank statement purporting to show that Trilateral had over $1.6 million in one account.    Continue Reading…

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New York Loan Modification Scam Indicted

Rachel Dollar —  October 7, 2015 — Leave a comment

David Gotterup, also known as “David Gott,”, 35, Oceanside, New York, and Jason Green, 35, Oceanside, New York, were charged in an eleven-count indictmenet with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud homeowners who were attempting to modify their mortgage loans, and related mail fraud counts.  The indictment also charged Gotterup with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud in connection with a scheme to improperly obtain mortgage loans, and related bank fraud counts, disaster loan fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Continue Reading…

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Straw Buyers and Advance Fee Schemes Net Guilty Plea

Rachel Dollar —  September 29, 2015 — Leave a comment

Tony Huy Havens, 42, Modesto, California, pleaded guilty mail fraud and wire fraud in advance fee and straw buyers mortgage fraud schemes.

According to court documents, in the first scheme Havens devised an “advance fee” scheme that targeted victims in at least eight states who were seeking multimillion dollar loans for large construction projects that were in danger of foreclosure. Havens provided the victims with fraudulent documents that showed a third-party lender was prepared to make a loan to the victim. On Havens’ instructions, the victims wired money into a bank account controlled by Havens to pay in advance certain costs associated with the loans. No loans were ever made. In total, Havens represented that he could arrange at least $1.1 billion in financing for at least 15 victim borrowers and collected at least $248,750 by wire transfers from them. Continue Reading…

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Guilty Plea in Advance Fee Scheme

Rachel Dollar —  September 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ann Elizabeth Ursiny, a/k/a Ann Stone, 51, Florida, pleaded guilty to 19 counts of mail fraud and 17 counts of wire fraud all in connection with a fraudulent advance fee scheme involving approximately 100 victims throughout the United States, including many in Massachusetts in which individuals were induced to pay up-front fees to Ursiny and her entity Trace Financial Group, Inc.  based on representations that those individuals would receive real estate loans, when in fact Ursiny never intended to make any such loans. Ursiny was indicted in May 2014. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for December 9, 2015. Ursiny’s codefendant, Robert O’Connor, pleaded guilty in June 2015 to participating in the same scheme by recruiting victims to apply for loans and pay the advance fees. O’Connor is scheduled to be sentenced on March 23, 2016. Continue Reading…

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Massachusetts Loan Modification Attorney liable to Homeowners

Rachel Dollar —  August 11, 2015 — Leave a comment

David Zak, attorney, Revere, Massachusetts, and his two businesses Zak Law Offices, P.C., and Loan Modification Group, Inc, have been ordered to pay more than $625,000 for targeting homeowners with deceptive advertisements and demanding thousands in illegal advance fees for mortgage modification and foreclosure relief services they failed to deliver.

“At a time when homeowners were struggling to afford their mortgages, this attorney abused his clients’ trust and deliberately exploited their financial circumstances by demanding exorbitant fees based on false promises, leaving these homeowners even more vulnerable,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said. “This judgment puts an end to these deceptive and unfair practices and confirms that those who seek to capitalize on the foreclosure crisis will be held accountable.”  Continue Reading…

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Company Pirates Legitimate Lender’s Website to Rip Off Consumers

Allison Tussey —  May 11, 2015 — Leave a comment

Lending Hands of Idaho, Inc., a bogus online lender, appears to have pirated website information from a legitimate Michigan-based company named Lending Hands of Michigan, Inc. raising a warning flag to consumers who may be searching for loans online.

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Man Arrested for Advance Loan Fee Scam

Allison Tussey —  April 2, 2015 — 5 Comments

Ivan Levy, 54, Boynton Beach, Florida, has been arrested for his alleged involvement in an advance fee loan scheme. Levy was charged with nine counts of collecting advanced fees as a loan broker, six counts of grand theft and three counts of petit theft.

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Company Charged with Assessing Illegal Loan Fees

Allison Tussey —  March 13, 2015 — Leave a comment

Andrew Mangini and First Solutions Inc., d/b/a Credit One, are the subjects of an administrative complaint alleging that they illegally assessed advance fees for loans. As part of the administrative complaint, a $700,000 fine has been sought as well as a notice of intent to issue a cease and desist order.

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Man Indicted for Advance Fee Loan Fraud Scheme

Allison Tussey —  February 2, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ronald Gene Morgan, 60, Las Vegas, Nevada, has been arrested on wire fraud charges for taking hundreds of thousands in fees from persons who thought the payments would help them obtain loans for various business ventures.

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Woman Admits Receiving Advance Fees in Exchange for Loans

Allison Tussey —  November 19, 2014 — Leave a comment

Mariame Robinson-Cowan, 66, Yonkers, New York, waived her right to indictment and pleaded guilty in New Haven, Connecticut, federal court to one count of wire fraud related to her participation in an advance fee fraud scheme.

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