Theresa Sanders, a/k/a Theresa Hayes, 55, most recently of Westerville, Ohio, an attorney, Tracie Clark, 41, Wimauma, Florida, Michelle Powers, 51, DeRuyter, New York, an attorney, Steven Essig, 60, an appraiser, and Paul Sakowski, 44, both of Syracuse, New York, have been indicted for their roles in a mortgage fraud ring that operated for years and netted more than $1 million by preying upon first-time home buyers and institutional lenders.

The five defendants bilked consumers by advertising a rent-to-own opportunity in which first-time home buyers with low credit were offered the chance to own their own homes with no down payments and no closing costs. The accused then took out fraudulent loans against those properties, conned lenders into believing they were paying off underlying mortgages, and then pocketed the money. Continue Reading…