Jon Weldon James, 33, Long Beach, California, a man who collected $33 million from investors with false claims of large profits from real estate investments, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for running the Ponzi scheme. United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner also ordered the defendant to pay $11,172,412 in restitution.
James pleaded guilty in
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Douglas Ballard, 40, Atlanta, Georiga, pleaded guilty in federal district court to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and to receive bribes, and to one count of tax evasion, and Joseph Todd Foster, 42, pleaded guilty to securities fraud. Ballard and Foster, Atlanta,
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Sharon Michelle Thomas, 39, Otsego, Minnesota, pleaded guilty in federal court in St. Paul before United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle to participating in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in a $400,000 loss to several mortgage loan lenders. Thomas pled guilty one count of aiding and abetting mail fraud. Thomas
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The Federal/State Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force announced results of “Operation Stolen Dreams,” the Task Force’s effort to combat mortgage fraud.
Iowa Assistant Attorney General Patrick Madigan represented Attorney General Tom Miller at the news conference at the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Miller is a leader of the State Attorneys General in the Mortgage Fraud Working Group, a key part of the broader Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
Miller’s office is working on
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Marie Decosta Quintana, 40, North Miami, Florida, as a result of an investigation led by the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force. The defendant was arrested Tuesday, June 29, 2010, and made her initial court appearance in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The two-count indictment charges defendant Quintana with making false statements on loan applications to Continue Reading...
The FSA’s extension of the Approved Persons (AP) regime has been welcomed by mortgage brokers as a way to boost the credibility of the industry, stamp on mortgage fraud and protect consumers.
On May 19, 2010, federal agents interrupted the closing on an allegedly fraudulent mortgage transaction and arrested the five defendants who were each charged with one or more counts of bank fraud in a five-count indictment returned a week before their arrest:
Daryl Fernandes, 45, and Obrian Fernandes,
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced the regional results of the nationwide takedown, Operation Stolen Dreams, which targeted mortgage fraudsters in the Eastern District of Missouri and throughout the country and is the largest collective enforcement effort ever brought to bear in confronting mortgage fraud.
The twelve mortgage fraud prosecutions in the Eastern District of Missouri between March 1, 2010, and June 17, 2010, as part of Operation
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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released its first analysis of suspicious activity reports (SARs) containing information about potential foreclosure rescue scams. The report, Loan Modification and Foreclosure Rescue Scams – Evolving Trends and Patterns in Bank Secrecy Act Reporting, involved an analysis of more than 3,500 SARs filed from 2004 through 2009, of which the great majority, 3,000, were filed last year. Additionally, FinCEN provided updated guidance to the
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Nine criminal Complaints have been unsealed charging 28 individuals with participating in various mortgage fraud scams that collectively sought to defraud lenders out of more than $5.5 million and involved more than 17 New Jersey properties.
Rodrigo Molina, a licensed real estate agent; Domingo Fuentes, an investor who owned multiple companies he used to purchase real estate
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