Archives For false bank statements

Angel Jackson, 44, Astatul, Florida, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to the indictment, Jackson and others conspired to create and execute a mortgage fraud scheme targeting financial institutions. To ensure that otherwise unqualified borrowers obtained mortgage loans from financial institutions, Jackson created fictitious and fraudulent paystubs that falsely indicated that the borrowers worked at particular companies for certain periods of time and earned income that they did not. Further, Jackson altered legitimate Social Security benefit letters to reflect exaggerated monthly disability income, and she altered bank statements to show falsely inflated account balances. Based on Jackson’s and her co-conspirators’ misrepresentations, the financial institutions approved and funded the mortgage loans.

If convicted, Jackson faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of an indictment charging Jackson.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.

Cabral Simpson, 47, Orange, New Jersey, was sentenced today to time already served, 20 months, for conspiring to commit mortgage fraud.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Simpson, a real estate investor, and his conspirators engaged in mortgage fraud by creating fake bank statements and fake employee verification records for buyers of properties and transferring money into the buyers’ bank accounts for payment of the deposit for a property. Simpson and his conspirators submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications, supporting documents, and closing documents on behalf of the buyers. They also induced lenders to issue more than $1 million in loans, resulting in defaults and exposing the lenders and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to more than $1 million in losses.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Neals sentenced Simpson to two years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $1.29 million.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Janine Rocheleau in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

 

Cabral Simpson, 46, Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to Count One of an indictment charging him with conspiring to commit wire fraud.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Simpson, a real estate investor, and his conspirators engaged in mortgage fraud by creating fake bank statements and fake employee verification records for buyers of properties and transferring money into the buyers’ bank accounts for payment of the deposit for a property. Simpson and his conspirators submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications, supporting documents, and closing documents on behalf of the buyers. They also induced lenders to issue more than $1 million in loans, resulting in defaults and exposing the lenders and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to more than $1 million in losses.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud to which Simpson pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000, twice the gross profits to Simpson or twice the gross loss suffered by the victims. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2024,

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina D. Scaringi in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

Johnny Fior, 48, Cape Coral, Florida has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions.

According to court documents, Fior committed the fraud by engaging in two different fraud schemes. With the first scheme, Fior convinced two individuals, by false and fraudulent pretenses, to serve as private investors/lenders for short-term balloon loans that were secured by mortgages on real properties in Lee County, Florida. To accomplish the scheme and give the investors the impression that their funded loans were secured by real property, Fior fraudulently filed fictitious mortgage deeds, promissory notes, and mortgage satisfactions. Additionally, Fior provided the investors interest-only payments to further delay repayment of the loans and requested loan repayment extensions to further prolong the scheme. Fior diverted the investors’ funds for his own personal use and none of the funds were used for their intended purpose.

In the second scheme, Fior, in his role as a real estate closing agent, diverted funds intended to be used to pay off property sellers’ existing mortgages to himself during real estate closings. In furtherance of the scheme, Fior created and caused the creation of real estate settlement statements that falsely represented a seller’s mortgage was repaid during the real estate closing process. Additionally, Fior created fake and fictitious bank statements, lender correspondence, wire transfer records, cashier’s checks, deposit records, and shipment records that fraudulently represented a seller’s mortgage had been paid or that the mortgage pay-off funds were submitted. As a result of the second scheme, two separate title insurance companies suffered a total loss of approximately $977,330.23.  

As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $1,404,169.74, which were the proceeds of the wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction offenses. Fior had pleaded guilty on January 18, 2023.

 This case was investigated by the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Trent Reichling.

Tiffany Dawn Russell, North Carolina was sentenced to 63 months today for her role in an extensive multi-year fraud conspiracy and was sentenced to 36 months for filing a false tax return.

Russell was originally indicted in November 2020 for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, access device fraud, and misuse of a social security number. According to the Indictment, Russell and her co-conspirators applied for loans and credit cards with social security numbers that were not issued to them by the Social Security Administration.  By doing so, they created new credit profiles or synthetic identities for themselves to open financial accounts and make purchases from retailers without any intention of paying for the items and services obtained.  Russell was charged with using a synthetic identity to purchase a BMW and to obtain a credit card which she used to pay for her 2016 butt augmentation surgery.

Russell also provided fabricated documents when applying for mortgages to purchase three properties, including an oceanfront residence in Nags Head, North Carolina.  Russell gave doctored bank statements and inflated pay stubs to make it appear she had substantial liquid assets and the ability to pay the loans.

In addition to using synthetic identities, Russell also embarked on a scheme of credit washing to remove legitimate debt accounts from her credit history by falsely claiming she was the victim of identity theft and had not opened those accounts.  Once the credit reporting agencies removed those accounts, her credit score improved, enabling her to obtain credit.

Finally, between March 30, 2020 and June 29, 2020, Russell and others fraudulently obtained more than $1 million in loans under the CARES Act, which was enacted by Congress to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.  The ten loan applications, including two for her law firm, contained false representations relating to the number of employees, monthly payroll, revenue, and expenses.

Russell used these illegally-obtained proceeds to make the down payment on her Nags Head property and purchase five other properties in North Carolina, Maryland and Alabama.  Russell also used these ill-gotten gains to pay outstanding personal debt, unrelated to any business entity.

These sentences will be served concurrently. Earlier this year, Russell pled guilty to charges relating to her efforts to obtain more than $2.5 million from at least 12 financial institutions and the United States Small Business Administration.  In addition to her prison sentences, Russell was ordered to forfeit more than $2 million in fraud proceeds.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan B. Menzer was the prosecutor.

This defendant spent years defrauding banks and the federal government, and now she’ll be spending years behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “As Judge Dever noted at sentencing, this was more than a one-off mistake, it was a multitude of bad decisions by an attorney who knew better. This fraud scheme is even more egregious because the defendant falsely obtained more than $1 million in COVID-relief funds intended to help legitimate, hard-working business owners weather the pandemic. Money intended to keep businesses afloat was instead used to purchase beach homes and support the defendant’s personal interests. I commend the many law enforcement partners on our EDNC Covid Fraud Task Force who helped to ensure that attorney Tiffany Russell faced justice.

On May 17, 2021, the United States Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. The Eastern District of North Carolina’s COVID Task Force is a part of this effort to coordinate fraud-related investigations and prosecutions in Eastern North Carolina. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00505-D-3.

Philip Abramowitz, 50, Pikesville, Maryland, has been charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and Calvin Abramowitz, 48, Lakewood, New Jersey, has been charges with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and for making false statements on a loan application.

According to the four-count indictment, from May 2016 to April 2017, Philip and Calvin Abramowitz conspired to defraud two financial institutions to obtain money and property under fraudulent pretenses.  Allegedly, Philip, Calvin Abramowitz, as well as others submitted mortgage applications totaling $535,448 to fund the purchase of two Baltimore, Maryland properties.  Allegedly, the loan applications contained false information that misrepresented the financing of the purchases and the ownership interests and intentions of the involved parties.

As alleged in the indictment, Philip Abramowitz instructed family members to apply for and receive Federal Housing Administration loans in their names in order to finance the purchase of two of his Baltimore properties.  Further, the indictment alleges that Philip and Calvin Abramowitz concealed Philip Abramowitz’s involvement in the real estate transactions and submitted false bank records and company filings during the loan application process to conceal the buyers’ and sellers’ familial relation.

Further, the indictment alleges that Philip Abramowitz falsified LLC records to create the illusion that his property manager was the sole owner of the selling entity in both property transactions and instructed his property manager to sign all closing documents as the “seller” to finalize the sales and the disbursement of loan proceeds.  In addition, the indictment alleges that Philip Abramowitz provided funds to Calvin Abramowitz to cover Calvin Abramowitz’s and another family members closing costs for both properties.

If convicted, Philip Abramowitz faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for bank fraud and 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.  If convicted, Calvin Abramowitz faces a maximum sentence of 30 years for bank fraud, a maximum of 30 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and 30 in federal prison for making false statements on a loan application.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The defendants will have initial appearances on March 24, 2022, beginning at 1:30 p.m., in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Coulson.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General.

 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HUD-OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Clarke, who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https:

 

Casey David Crowther, 35, Fort Myers, Florida has been sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison for two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making a false statement to a lending institution, and two counts of money laundering.

At trial, a federal jury had found Crowther guilty of committing bank fraud, making a false statement to a lending institution, and two counts of money laundering on March 26, 2021, which were related to a PPP fraud scheme. Before the trial started, Crowther pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution, which were related to a mortgage fraud scheme. As part of the mortgage fraud scheme, Crowther created false bank statements to justify a loan he had used to purchase a nearly $1.3 million waterfront house in St. James City, Florida.

According to evidence at the trial, Crowther obtained a $2.1 million PPP loan by falsely stating that he had intended to use the money to make payroll and pay rent and utilities for his company Target Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc. However, Crowther intended to use the money to enrich himself and, once the loan was obtained, quickly used the proceeds to make a series of personal purchases including a nearly $700,000 boat and a $100,000 payment to a former business partner. Crowther concealed the scheme by providing false explanations for the expenditures to his bank, calling the boat “equipment” and the payment to his former partner “payroll.” Under the terms of the PPP program, Crowther did not have to pay back the loan if he used at least 60% of the proceeds on payroll. To falsely make it appear he met that threshold, Crowther created dozens of fake employees to whom he purportedly paid wages: by adding multiple family members to his company’s payroll, even though they did not actually perform work; and, separately, by creating 39 other fake employees, for whom he obtained fake identification documents — including Social Security cards — that he provided to his company’s Human Resources to be placed in the files of the “employees.”

The court also ordered Crowther to forfeit $2,739,081.21, $630,482.37, and a 40’ catamaran boat, which were the proceeds of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud and the mortgage fraud offenses.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Trent Reichling and Michael V. Leeman. Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Nebesky obtained the forfeitures.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

Nathanael Zimmerman, 40, Wyckoff, New Jersey, was arrested today on charges of engaging in mortgage fraud, fraudulently obtaining an SBA loan, and stealing another person’s identity

According to the complaint:

From August 2013 through January 2014, Zimmerman orchestrated a scheme to engage in mortgage fraud concerning Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans. Zimmerman aided individuals in applying for FHA-insured loans and caused fraudulent representations to be made to the lenders, including submitting false bank statements. Zimmerman received a portion of the loan proceeds. Later, these unqualified individuals defaulted on their loans, causing losses to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of more than $300,000.

In 2020 Zimmerman used his deceased brother’s identity to obtain a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). Zimmerman received more than $150,000 by applying for EIDL funds in his brother’s name and using his brother’s personal identification information.

The charges of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million, or twice the gross profits or twice the gross loss suffered by the victims, whichever is greater. The charge of aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000, twice the gross profits or twice the gross loss suffered by the victims, whichever is greater.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig made the announcement.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sammi Malek and Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

Casey David Crowther ,35, North Fort Myers, Florida has been charged in a superseding indictment with two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making a false statement to a lending institution, and three counts of illegal monetary transactions.

According to the superseding indictment, as part of his scheme, beginning in June of 2020, Crowther submitted false and fraudulent Uniform Residential Loan Applications (URLA) to a mortgage broker and mortgage lender, causing the lender to disburse approximately $640,381 in loan funds. Specifically, Crowther intentionally misrepresented his liquid assets in the URLAs and created false and fraudulent bank statements which purported to show he had more assets than he actually had.

If convicted, Crowther faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on each bank fraud and false statement count, and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for each illegal monetary transaction count.

The indictment also notifies Crowther that the United States intends to forfeit a 2020 40-foot catamaran, real property in St. James City, Florida, and $2,098,700, which are alleged to be proceeds of the offenses; the real property is also subject to forfeiture because it was involved in the illegal monetary transaction.

A federal grand jury had previously indicted Crowther for COVID relief fraud on September 23, 2020. The superseding indictment contains additional counts charging Crowther with mortgage fraud.

A superseding indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Trent Reichling.

Cabral Simpson, 43, Belleville, New Jersey, was arraigned today on charges that he engaged in a conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud that resulted in potential losses in excess of $1 million.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Simpson, a real estate investor, and his conspirators engaged in mortgage fraud by creating fake bank statements and fake employee verification records for buyers of properties and transferring money into the buyers’ bank accounts for payment of the deposit for a property. Simpson and his conspirators submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications, supporting documents, and closing documents on behalf of the buyers. They induced lenders to issue more than $1 million in loans, resulting in defaults and exposing the lenders and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to more than $1 million in potential losses. 

The conspiracy and wire fraud counts with which Simpson is charged each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss or gain caused by the offense.

Simpson appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court. He is charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to the indictment.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.