United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch announced that they have formed and held the first meeting of the Rhode Island Mortgage Fraud Task Force, an initiative linking federal and state agencies in the fight against mortgage fraud.

Consisting of several federal and state agencies and working closely with local police departments, the task force will pool investigative and prosecutorial resources and target deceptive mortgage foreclosure

Jason Vitulano, 44, Boca Raton, Florida, has pled guilty before U. S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud (Count 1) and one count of mail fraud (Count 12), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and 1341, respectively. Vitulano is being held in pre-trial detention pending sentencing, which has been scheduled for

Anthony B. Ghio, 43, Stockton, California, has pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia to conspiring to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, California.

Ghio admitted in his guilty plea that he conspired with a group of real estate speculators

William T. Bridge, 43, Cambria, California, was sentenced by United States District Judge William B. Shubb to 21 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, $1,057, 700.90 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, and a $60,000 fine for multiple counts of filing false tax returns and paying kickbacks in connection with real estate loan transactions. Continue Reading...