Ralph Pecorale, Long Island, New York, a real estate lawyer, has been cleared of mortgage fraud charges after a Brooklyn, New York, Supreme Court judge dismissed an 18-count indictment against him, though the charges against the six other defendants remained in place.
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Keith Anthony, 46, Elmont, New York, the former President and owner of a company that purported to provide financing for home purchases to people with poor credit, and a former employee of the company, Anthony Podias, 39, Levittown, New York, have been indicted for their alleged participation in a scheme that victimized more than 100 financially struggling people across the country.
Ifeanyichukwu Eric Abakporo, 52, a Nigerian citizen, now a resident of Queens, New York, and a pastor at a Bible Church, has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a real estate fraud scheme wherein he swindled a multi-million dollar property from an elderly woman.
Joseph Del Valle, 59, Aventura, Florida, an owner and partner of various investment companies, including Vanquish Acquisition Partners LLC and PM Capital Management LLC, which were based in Manhattan, New York, surrendered on charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy for operating a fraudulent scheme related to a Florida real estate development project.
Adam J. Manson, 42, Old Westbury, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud for engaging in a $96 million Ponzi scheme with co-defendant and former investment fund manager Brian R. Callahan. The defendants diverted millions of dollars of investor funds towards the Panoramic View, an unprofitable 117-unit beachfront resort and residence development.
Manjeet Bawa, 46, Dix Hills, New York, Joseph Ferrara, 70, Long Beach, New York, Eric Finger, 48, Miami, Florida, Joseph Mirando, 54, Centereach, New York, John Petition, 68, Garden City, New York, and Aaron Wider, 50, Copiague, New York, have been charged with carrying out a $30 million bank fraud conspiracy by fraudulently inflating the prices of homes for sale and then obtaining mortgages that far exceeded the true collateral value of properties.
Harold L. Gruber, 60, an attorney, and his law firm, Harold L. Gruber, P.C., Brooklyn, New York, have entered into a settlement to resolve allegations of submitting at least nine fraudulent filings to the Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau and breaching his fiduciary duties as an escrow agent.
Rodney Watts, 42, Bronxville, New York, the former chief investment officer of GDC Acquisitions LLC (GDC), was sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to 37 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The charges against the defendant arose out of a scheme to defraud Amalgamated Bank, GDC’s asset-based lender, of $21 million in fraudulent loans.
Kenneth Schwartz, 64, Huntington, New York, and Helene Stetch, 50, Lindenhurst, New York, have been charged by a Queens County grand jury with defrauding homeowners, financial institution and real estate buyers out of more than $1 million through a short sale mortgage fraud scheme that occurred over a nineteen-month period between October 2008 and May 2010.
Michael C. Kaufman, and his son, Richard A. Kaufman, both of Pittsford, New York, were convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and loan fraud. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.