Ped Abghari, a/k/a Ted Allen, 37, Irvine, California, Dionysius Fiumano, a/k/a “D,” 43, Irvine, and Justin Romano, 40, Blue Point, New York, have been charged with engaging in a mortgage modification scheme that defrauded over 8,000 homeowners in all 50 states out of over $18.5 million, in what is believed to be the largest mortgage modification scheme ever charged.
Archives For Loan Modification
**** UPDATE: APRIL 20, 2020: On April 15, 2019, after a nine day jury trial, Damon Grant Carriger was found NOT GUILTY on Count 5,8,10-11,14,17-18,21-22. Aminullah Sarpas was found GUILTY on Count 1,5,8,10-11,14,17-18,21,24, and NOT GUILTY on Count 31. The jury DEADLOCKED on count 1 for Carriger and count 22 for Sarpas and the court declared a mistrial as to those counts. (Count 1 is Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; Counts 2 through 27 are mail fraud, counts 28 through 31 are wire fraud, counts 32 and 33 are money laundering.)
Count 1 was retried as to Damon Grant Carriger and, following a four day jury trial on that count, on February 24, 2020, Damon Grant Carriger was found NOT GUILTY.
On August 31, 2015, Louis Saggiani pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The docket contains multiple documents filed under seal. The trial memorandum filed by the government indicates that both Saggiani and Samuel Paul Bain had pled guilty. None of the defendants have been sentenced.
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Samuel Paul Bain, aka Paul Bain, 35, Tustin, California, an owner and principal of the businesses, Aminullah Sarpas, aka Amin Sarpas and David Sarpas, 32, Irvine, California, also an owner and principal of the businesses, Damon Grant Carriger, 36, Corona, California, the principal sales manager, and Louis Saggiani, 64, Huntington Beach, California, the manager and chief accountant, have been arrested for allegedly offering bogus loan modification programs to financially distressed homeowners.
Duy Khac Nguyen, 34, Garden Grove, California, is scheduled to be arraigned for defrauding 42 victims of over $92,000 by operating a fraudulent loan modification company.
Ajay Thuraisingham, 27, Ontario, Canada, and co-defendant Christopher Duharte, 36, Coconut Creek, Florida, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra to 54 months in prison, and to 30 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in operating boiler rooms that collected advance fees from distressed homeowners purportedly in exchange for obtaining loan modifications for the homeowners which were, with few exceptions, never provided.
Maria Elena Alvarez, Maricopa County, Arizona, is the subject of a consent judgment that prohibits her from providing mortgage or other consumer loan modification services to Arizona consumers.
Seven defendants, including an attorney, have been indicted for allegedly defrauding over 3,500 victims to the tune of $13.5 million in the largest loan modification scheme ever prosecuted in the nation.
Kenneth Sandoval, 36, Dearborn, Michigan, owner of Nationwide Consulting, was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison after being convicted of one count of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a felony punishable by 20 years in prison, and two counts of Larceny by Conversion, $20,000 or more, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Sandoval defrauded approximately 84 victims out of $914,151.
Brian Kelly, 37, Forest Hill, Maryland man was sentenced to serve one year and a day in federal prison for defrauding thousands of homeowners in a $4 million nationwide home loan modification scheme wherein Kelly promised homeowners a guaranteed loan modification in exchange for $400-$2,000 in upfront costs.
Anna S. Lee, 54, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and her daughter, Jennifer H. Lee, 25, New York City, New York, were arrested on Monday, April 14, 2014, in connection with an alleged real estate loan scam wherein the defendants fraudulently obtained over $300,000 in payments from victims for loan modifications services.
The Homeowner Legal Assistance Association (HLAA), a Florida corporation, has allegedly misled hundreds of distressed homeowners facing foreclosure in Hawaii by a loan modification program operated by HLAA for approximately 17 months in 2009 and 2010.