Archives For Mortgage Elimination

George B. Larsen, 56, formerly of San Rafael, California was found guilty of conspiracy and four counts of bank fraud. Larry Todt, 65, formerly of Malibu, California was found guilty of conspiracy and one count of bank fraud. The two men were found guilty today in a bank fraud scheme that sought to fraudulently eliminate home mortgages and then profit on the subsequent home sales.

According to court documents, between April 22, 2010, and November 18, 2011, Larsen and Todt were members of a conspiracy that ran a “mortgage elimination program” purporting to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure.  The conspirators fraudulently altered the chain of title on residential properties, sold the properties, and received the sales proceeds.

As a requirement for participation in the “mortgage elimination program,” the conspirators enrolled homeowners as members in a Nevada City-based church named Shon-te-East-a, Walks With Spirit, or its successor entity Pillow Foundation. The conspirators indicated to the homeowners these entities would offer protection against the banks.

Larsen and Todt each ran branches of the mortgage elimination program, recruiting homeowners into the scheme, marshalling the necessary recorded documents, and guiding the homes through sale. Once the homeowner enrolled with Shon-te-East-a or Pillow Foundation, Larsen and Todt would have a sham deed of trust created and recorded, giving the impression that the homeowner had refinanced the mortgage loan with a new lender. In reality, the new lender was a fake entity controlled by the conspirators, and the homeowner owed no money to the purported new lender.

The next step in the process was also a recorded document. The conspirators caused a fake deed of reconveyance to be recorded, giving the appearance that the true mortgage loan had been discharged and that the true lien holder no longer had a security interest in the home.

With title appearing to be clear, the conspirators caused the sale of the home, with the proceeds split between the co-conspirators and the homeowners.

In total, 37 properties were sold through the Shon-te-East-a conspiracy. The conspirators recorded fraudulent documents on an additional approximately 100 homes, but were unable to sell these before the scheme unraveled.

Three other co-defendants have previously entered guilty pleas. On April 21, 2017, Remus A. Kirkpatrick, formerly of Oceanside, California, pleaded guilty to one count of falsely making writings of lending associations. On May 26, 2017, Michael Romano, Benicia, California pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and on July 14, 2017, Laura Pezzi, Roseville, California, pleaded guilty to falsely making writings of lending associations. They are scheduled to be sentenced on February 23, 2018.     Co-defendants John Michael DiChiara, Penn Valley, California and James Castle, Santa Rosa, California are still awaiting trial. The charges against DiChiara and Castle are only allegations:  both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

In related cases, on September 4, 2015, Tisha Trites and Todd Smith, both of San Diego, California pleaded guilty to related charges before U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr. They are scheduled to be sentenced on February 9, 2018. http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/?s=George+B.+Larsen

Larsen and Todt are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr. on March 16, 2018, at which time they each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years and a $1 million fine. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert made the announcement.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey B. Hemesath and Todd A. Pickles are prosecuting the case.

 

Sean David Morton, 59, Hermosa, Beach, California was sentenced to six years in federal prison and his wife, Melissa Ann Morton, 51, Hermosa Beach, California, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for using bogus financial instruments in an attempt to pay off debt and for filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service that sought millions of dollars in refunds.  The Mortons were each ordered to pay $480,322 in restitution to the IRS.

Sean Morton’s sentencing follows a four-day trial in April in which he was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, two counts of filing false claims against the United States, and 26 counts of passing false or fictitious financial instruments. Sean Morton was originally scheduled to be sentenced in June, but he failed to appear for that hearing and was a fugitive for over two months. Melissa Morton was convicted of conspiracy, two counts filing false claims and 25 counts of passing false or fictitious financial instruments

The Mortons operated a “redemption” scheme, which is the most common scheme used across the nation by tax defiers and “sovereign citizens.” Proponents of this scheme falsely claim that the United States government controls bank accounts – often referred to as “U.S. Treasury Direct Accounts” – for U.S. citizens that can be accessed by submitting paperwork with state and federal authorities. Individuals promoting this scam frequently cite bogus legal theories and may refer to the scheme as “Redemption” or “Strawman.” This scheme, which repeatedly has been rejected by courts, predominately uses fraudulent financial documents that appear to be legitimate.

The Mortons sold the bond scheme to others who were in debt to governmental organizations, such as the IRS and the State of California, and private bank institutions for mortgage or credit card debt. The Mortons charged their clients thousands of dollars to prepare and file useless UCC-1 documents declaring their clients’ “strawman” status, and to prepare and send false bonds to the government or banks which purported to pay off the clients’ debt. “The total amounts of the check/bonds [the Mortons] made and passed are astronomical – the principal amounts of said instruments range from $50,000 to $10 million,” according to court documents.

In sentencing briefs filed with the court, prosecutors said Sean Morton “touted he was a ‘paper terrorist’ when giving seminars regarding his schemes,” and he harassed and burdened the “courts with mountains of frivolous paperwork…in an effort to degrade the court system over time and make it more difficult to efficiently resolve cases, especially tax cases.”

The evidence presented at trial also showed that the Mortons filed income tax returns with the IRS that falsely claimed they had income from various banking institutions reported on Forms 1099-OID. As part of the scheme, the Mortons falsely reported large withholdings and claimed they were owed refunds from the IRS.

As a result of the scheme, the IRS erroneously issued a refund of $480,322.55 to Sean Morton for a 2008 income tax return. On the same day the refund was deposited into the Mortons’ joint bank account, the couple took immediate steps to conceal the money, which included opening two new accounts, transferring over $360,000 to the two new accounts, and withdrawing $70,000 in cash.

When the IRS took steps to collect the erroneous refund, the Mortons began a campaign to thwart the government’s collection efforts. Specifically, when the IRS placed a levy on the couple’s joint bank account, the couple repeatedly sent letters to the IRS that falsely claimed it was Melissa Morton’s sole and separate account.

When the IRS attempted to collect the erroneous refund from the Mortons, the Mortons presented to the IRS various “coupons” and “bonds” that purported to pay off their debt with the IRS. The Mortons created and submitted these bogus documents to the IRS, instructing the agency to draw upon funds with the United States Treasury to satisfy their debt.

While sentencing Sean Morton, Judge Wilson said his conduct “caused a serious disruption” to the tax system and “caused others to engage in fraudulent conduct.”

“The scheme, while outrageous, was also calculated,” Judge Wilson said.

Sean Morton was originally scheduled to be sentenced on June 19, but he failed to appear in court and was a fugitive for 61 days. During that time, Sean Morton “flagrantly flouted the law, appeared on social media, his radio program, and YouTube to brag about his status as a fugitive,” according to court papers filed by prosecutors. Soon after her husband fled, Melissa Morton was ordered not to have any contact with her husband.

The Mortons were arrested on August 21, 2017 while observing the solar eclipse poolside at a hotel in Desert Hot Springs. The following day, a United States Magistrate Judge found that they had violated the terms of their release on bond and ordered them detained.

This is a case where the defendants clearly engaged in a systematic effort to impede the tax system, undermine the efforts of prosecutors, and, in the case of Sean Morton, avoid sentencing after being convicted by a jury of his peers,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “This case sends a clear message that we will spare no effort to preserve the integrity of this nation’s institutions. The lengthy sentences also demonstrate that illegal efforts to use bogus legal theories in an effort to defraud fellow taxpayers will not be tolerated.”

The Mortons’ blatant disrespect for the law will now cost them years of valuable freedom,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge R. Damon Rowe. “Today’s sentencing shows how seriously the courts take those individuals who attempt to lead others down a perilous financial and legal path, in addition to devising illegal tax schemes to obtain refunds to which they are not entitled.”

Morton was sentenced by and by United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson.

The investigation of the Mortons was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Valerie Makarewicz and James C. Hughes of the Tax Division.

Urmila Sri Thakur, also known as Urmila Buddhu-Thakur and Indro Buddhu-Thakur, 72, Wethersfield, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court to a money laundering offense stemming from a fraudulent debt elimination scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2009 to June 2012, Thakur, her former husband, Deowraj “Deo” Buddhu and their daughter, Sunita Buddhu, sold a debt elimination “program” to vulnerable individuals through various businesses, including Paradise Consulting Service, Hema, Inc., and Secured Redemption. In exchange for substantial fees, Deo Buddhu told victims about a little-known government fund that could be used to pay off their mortgages and other debts. In fact, no such fund exists. Buddhu instructed his victims to stop making payments on their mortgages, credit cards and other debts, and to stop paying their property taxes. He also provided his victims with fictitious promissory notes, which he called “bonds,” as well as other frivolous documentation, and advised his victims to use them to pay their debts.

On June 12, 2012, the day after Deo Buddhu’s arrest, Thakur withdrew $75,000 from a certificate of deposit account that contained funds from the scheme. She also obtained several cashier’s checks, including one for $50,000 made payable to Thakur, which she thereafter negotiated using accounts in the name of SDK SYS Solutions and TRK Consulting Services.

Thakur pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. She is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford on November 20, 2017.

As part of her plea, Thakur has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $335,072, which is the amount attributable to the underlying fraudulent debt elimination scheme.

Thakur is released on a $250,000 bond pending sentencing.

Deo Buddhu and Sunita Buddhu were previously convicted in Hartford federal court.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced the plea. The matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Pierpont, Jr. and Liam Brennan.

Martin Calzada, 30, Norwalk, California, was sentenced to nine years in prison; Juan Curiel, 38, Visalia, California was sentenced to three years and five months in prison; and Santiago Palacios-Hernandez, 48, Salinas, California, was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison, in connection with their roles in a mortgage elimination scam in Bakersfield, Visalia and Salinas, California.

On March 10, 2017, Calzada was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiracy and eight counts of mail fraud affecting a financial institution. In December 2014, Curiel and Palacios-Hernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud

According to evidence presented during Calzada’s four-day trial, the defendants conspired to defraud homeowners facing foreclosure. The three men operated Star Reliable Mortgage, which had offices in Bakersfield, Visalia, and Salinas, and targeted distressed homeowners with a fraudulent “loan elimination” scheme. Between approximately August 2010 and October 2011, Star Reliable charged clients an upfront fee for its services — ranging from $2,500 up to $4,500 — as well as monthly fees, for ostensibly helping the clients own their homes “free and clear.” Clients paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Star Reliable and at least $300,000 was transferred from Star Reliable into Calzada’s bank accounts.

To advance the scheme, Calzada, Curiel, and Palacios-Hernandez filed fraudulent documents at county recorders’ offices on behalf of the homeowner-clients. The fraudulent documents purported to replace the legitimate property trustees with fictitious trusts, all in an effort to “cloud title” and halt or stall the foreclosure process. The defendants and other employees working at their direction told Star Reliable clients to stop paying their mortgages. They also falsely represented that Star Reliable clients had $1 million in a U.S. government account that could be used to pay off a homeowner’s mortgage.

As part of their sentences, the defendants were ordered to pay more than $1.1 million dollars in restitution to former Star Reliable clients and mortgage loan owners Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which suffered financial losses upon the foreclosure of several clients’ homes.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill handed down the sentences.  U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert made the announcement.These cases were the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher D. Baker and Patrick J. Suter prosecuted the cases.

David Tyrone Johnson, 48, Washington, D.C., was sentenced to a year and a day in prison on federal charges arising from a real estate scheme involving forged mortgage satisfaction documents.

Johnson pled guilty in April 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to charges of bank fraud and making false statements. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson. Following his prison term, Johnson will be placed on two years of supervised release. He also must pay $337,105 in restitution to Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, as well as a forfeiture money judgment of $170,688.

According to a statement of offense submitted at the time of the guilty plea, SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. loaned a friend of Johnson’s approximately $470,000 in 2008 to purchase residential real estate in the 100 block of 57th Street SE. By 2009, the friend had failed to repay the mortgage loans, and in 2010, SunTrust Mortgage filed a notice of foreclosure with the District of Columbia’s Recorder of Deeds. In April 2013, SunTrust Mortgage began the process of foreclosing on the mortgage and taking possession of the property, due to the friend’s failure to make good and timely payments on the mortgage loans.

Sometime before October 2, 2013, Johnson caused the creation of two phony and forged certificates of satisfaction, which falsely represented that the SunTrust Mortgage loans at the property on 57th Street SE had been paid and that his friend owned the property “free and clear.” According to the statement of offense, on October 2, 2013, Johnson filed these two phony certificates of satisfaction with the Recorder of Deeds.

In or about December 2013, after the fake certificates of satisfaction allowed the friend to sell the property without paying the outstanding mortgages, the title and escrow company wired out the sales proceeds of $337,105, of which approximately $170,688 was obtained by Johnson.

In addition, in 2015, Johnson was required to submit a financial disclosure form to his government agency employer; however, on that form, Johnson failed to disclose the money he obtained from the sales proceeds of the property, knowing that he had obtained the money. This failure to inform his government agency employer was material or important to his employer, and one that resulted in a false statement on his financial disclosure form.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Andrew Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office expressed appreciation for the work performed by those who investigated the case and assisted in preparing it for trial from the FBI, including the Washington Field Office and the FBI Laboratory. They also acknowledged the efforts of those working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Christopher Toms; former Paralegal Specialists Corinne Kleinman and Kaitlyn Krueger; Litigation Tech Specialist Ron Royal, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Swanton, who assisted with forfeiture issues. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, who prosecuted the case.

Martin Calzada, 29, Norwalk, California was found guilty by a federal jury after a four-day trial, of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and eight counts of mail fraud affecting a financial institution.

According to evidence presented at trial, Calzada conspired to defraud homeowners facing foreclosure. Calzada and other employees of Star Reliable Mortgage, which had offices in Bakersfield, Visalia, and Salinas, California, targeted distressed homeowners with a fraudulent “loan elimination” scheme. Between approximately August 2010 and October 2011, Star Reliable charged clients an upfront fee for its services – ranging from $2,500 up to $4,500 – as well as monthly fees, based on false promises that the clients could own their homes “free and clear” as a result of Star Reliable’s services. Clients paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Star Reliable and at least $300,000 was transferred from Star Reliable into Calzada’s bank accounts. In furtherance of the scheme, Calzada and other employees at Star Reliable filed at county recorders’ offices fraudulent documents on behalf of the homeowner-clients, which purported to replace the legitimate property trustees with fictitious trusts affiliated with the defendant and Star Reliable, all in an effort to “cloud title” and halt or stall the foreclosure process. Additionally, Calzada, and other employees working at his direction told Star Reliable clients to stop paying their mortgages. They also falsely represented that Star Reliable clients had one million dollars in a U.S. government account that could be used to pay-off a homeowner’s mortgage.

Calzada was remanded into custody following the announcement of the verdict. In a related case in December 2014, co-conspirators Juan Ramon Curiel, 38, Visalia, California and Santiago Palacios-Hernandez, 47, Salinas, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Curiel additionally pleaded guilty to one count of bankruptcy fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge O’Neill on April 10, 2017.

Calzada is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge O’Neill on June 5, 2017. Calzada faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced the verdict. The trial was held before United States Chief District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher D. Baker and Patrick J. Suter are prosecuting the case.

Urmila Sri Thakur, also known as Urmila Buddhu-Thakur and Indro Buddhu-Thakur, 72, Wethersfield, Connecticut was charged in a nine-count grand jury indictment with conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering offenses related to a fraudulent debt elimination scheme.

According to court documents, from 2009 to June 2012, Thakur, her former husband, Deowraj “Deo” Buddhu and their daughter, Sunita Buddhu, sold a debt elimination “program” to vulnerable individuals through various businesses, including Paradise Consulting Service, Hema, Inc., and Secured Redemption. In exchange for substantial fees, Deo Buddhu told victims about a little-known government fund that could be used to pay off their mortgages and other debts. In fact, no such fund exists. Buddhu instructed his victims to stop making payments on their mortgages, credit cards and other debts, and to stop paying their property taxes. He also provided his victims with fictitious promissory notes, which he called “bonds,” as well as other frivolous documentation, and advised his victims to use them to pay their debts.

The indictment alleges that Thakur participated in the scheme by signing documents provided to victims as a witness, taking money from victims in exchange for their participation in the purported program, and managing payroll operations for the various businesses used for the purpose of selling and attempting to sell the program to the victims.

The indictment further alleges that, on June 12, 2012, the day after Deo Buddhu’s arrest, Thakur withdrew $75,000 from a certificate of deposit account that contained funds from the scheme. Thakur also obtained several cashier’s checks, including one for $50,000 made payable to Thakur, which she thereafter negotiated using accounts in the name of SDK SYS Solutions and TRK Consulting Services.

The indictment was returned on February 15, 2017. Thakur appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford, Connecticut, entered a plea of not guilty to the charges, and was released on a $250,000 bond.

The indictment charges Thakur with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and seven counts of money laundering. If convicted, she faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years for the conspiracy count, 20 years for the mail fraud count and 10 years on each count of money laundering.

Deo Buddhu and Sunita Buddhu were previously convicted in Hartford federal court.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced the indictment. The matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Pierpont, Jr. and Liam Brennan.

Bruce Lewis, 65, Jacqueline Graham, 47, Anthony Vigna, 59, Rocco Cermele, 54, and Paula Guadagno, 58, were indicted and charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud in connection with a debt-elimination scheme to defraud homeowners and banks.

The Indictment alleges that in 2011 and 2012, Lewis, Graham, and an unindicted co-conspirator were partners in a business that they called the Pillow Foundation or the Terra Foundation (collectively, “Terra”).  Terra held itself out as a business that would investigate and eliminate mortgage debt in exchange for a fee.  Terra solicited clients who were having difficulties making their mortgage payments.

Vigna was a lawyer who worked in-house at Terra and provided legal services to it and its clients.  Cermele was Terra’s director of operations who recruited clients, among other duties.  Guadagno was a real estate title professional who performed real estate title work for Terra.

Lewis, Graham, Vigna, Cermele, Guadagno, and others at Terra told potential clients that Terra could eliminate their mortgage debt in exchange for a fee.  In reality, Terra filed fraudulent discharges of mortgages at local county clerk’s offices in Westchester and Putnam Counties, New York and in Connecticut.  These fraudulent documents made it appear as if Terra’s clients’ mortgages had been discharged, when in fact they had not.

To profit from their scheme, Terra and the defendants charged monthly fees that they said covered, among other things, audits of the clients’ properties that they often failed to perform.  Terra and the defendants also encouraged their clients to take out second or reverse mortgages on the properties for which Terra had claimed to have discharged the first mortgages.  Once the clients had taken out these second or reverse mortgages, Terra and the defendants retained substantial portions of the proceeds.  Some of these second or reverse mortgages were made under HUD’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program.

In total, Terra and the defendants filed nearly 60 fraudulent discharges in Westchester and Putnam Counties in New York and in Connecticut.  The fraudulent discharges claimed to discharge mortgages with a total loan principal of over $33 million.  In reality, the Terra clients for whom the fraudulent discharges were filed were often left with both a second or reverse mortgage and their original mortgage that had not actually been discharged.

Vigna, Cermele, and Guadagno were taken into federal custody.  Lewis and Graham remain at large.

Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Beidel, Michael Maimin, and James McMahon are in charge of the

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Christina Scaringi, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the unsealing of the Indictment.  Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and HUD-OIG.  Mr. Bharara also thanked the Westchester and Putnam County District Attorney’s Offices and the Cheshire Police Department in Cheshire, Connecticut, for their ongoing assistance in the case.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated:  “The defendants allegedly preyed on vulnerable homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments and, with their greed, victimized them further.  When the defendants were done with the victims, after falsely promising to reduce or even eliminate their mortgage debt for fees, these homeowners were left much worse off, in even greater debt.  With the charges today, and thanks to the investigative work of the FBI and HUD, the defendants now face federal fraud charges.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney stated:  “As charged, the defendants exploited a program designed to help cost-burdened individuals enjoy the privilege of affordable housing.  Crimes of this nature not only hurt their victims financially, but often force upon them other forms of anguish while harming the financial integrity of the very programs established to help them. We urge everyone to protect themselves against this type of fraud and abuse.  If something doesn’t sound right, trust your instincts and do some checking. If you think you may be or have been a victim of mortgage fraud, we urge you to contact your nearest FBI office.”

HUD-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Christina Scaringi stated:  “HUD’s reverse mortgage program was created to help our senior citizens find greater financial security through FHA-insured loans.  The defendants’ alleged scheme to unjustly enrich themselves through the victimization of our senior citizens is a shameful act that will not be tolerated by the HUD OIG.  We will continue to aggressively pursue those who would prey on America’s senior citizens and encourage anyone having knowledge of such schemes to contact our HUD hotline.”

John Michael DiChiara, 57, Nevada City, California; James C. Castle, 51, formerly of Santa Rosa, California; Remus A. Kirkpatrick, 58, formerly of Oceanside, California; George B. Larsen, 54, formerly of San Rafael, California; Laura Pezzi, 59, Roseville, California; Larry Todt, 63, formerly of Malibu, California; and Michael Romano, 68, Benicia, California, were charged by a federal grand jury in a 42-count indictment, with conspiracy, bank fraud, false making of documents, and money laundering in connection with a mortgage elimination scheme. Tisha Trites, 49, San Diego, California and Todd Smith, 44, San Diego, California, pleaded guilty to related charges before U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on September 4, 2015.

DiChiara was arrested in Cool, California. Pezzi and Romano were arrested at their homes. The other four defendants listed in the indictment have yet to be arrested. Continue Reading…

Jennifer McTigue, 48, Honolulu, Hawaii pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering, as well as committing wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. McTigue pled guilty in federal district court before Senior District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall a day after jury selection for her trial was to have commenced.

In connection with her guilty plea, McTigue, who is representing herself and identifies herself as a “private non-citizen American national” stated:

“I feel I must take responsibility for people being damaged and that’s why I’m here today to plead guilty.”

Documents filed by McTigue in the court case had caused the Judge to order that she undergo a competency evaluation.

Continue Reading…