On Thursday, April 30, 2009, after two days of deliberations, the jury in the trial of Bonfigli v. Strachan, Sonoma County Superior Court Case No. SCV-239528, returned a verdict in favor of the defense.
Defendant Michael D. Smith was represented by lead counsel Rachel Dollar of Smith Dollar PC. Heather Bussing second chaired the majority of the trial and was assisted by Allison Tussey, both of Smith Dollar PC. Defendant Alan
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The Washington Attorney General’s Office declared a major victory for consumers this week in response to a judge’s order that a notorious foreclosure rescue scammer must pay more than $3.2 million to victims he wronged plus $179,000 in penalties for violating the Consumer Protection Act.
Michael Prieskorn, mortgage originator, has had his license revoked by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, who also fined him $2.2 million, for his involvement in the fraudulent sale of approximately 220 homes in new developments in high-growth areas including Eagan, Buffalo, Rochester and St. Cloud, Minnesota. Commerce
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John A. Yanchek, 49, Sarasota, Florida, was sentenced by United States District Judge James D. Whittemore to five years in federal prison for a conspiracy to commit loan fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. The court also ordered Yanchek to forfeit $7.6 million. Yanchek had pleaded guilty on February 4, 2009.
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Larry Jason Somera, West Linn, Oregon, has been ordered, in an ongoing effort to better protect Oregon mortgage borrowers from fraud, by the Department of Consumer and Business Services, to cease and desist permanently from the mortgage lending industry after he pleaded guilty in Multnomah County Court to one count of forgery. Somera agreed to sign the state’s order as
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Inquiring minds are investigating provisions of a foreclosure prevention plan working its way through Congress. The plan throws away more taxpayer money while shielding servicers from misconduct. In other words, the bill does exactly what one might expect from this Congress and this administration.
The Portland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office today announced expanded efforts to identify and prosecute mortgage fraud. As part of a multi-agency approach, special internet and phone tip lines have been established to handle reports of mortgage fraud. Investigations will be handled by the Oregon Mortgage Fraud Working Group, which has been operating since 2007, and continues to tackle mortgage fraud on multiple fronts.
Since 2007
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Kamal J. Gregory, 35, Centerville, Ohio, pleaded guilty in United States District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Gregory committed the crimes in connection with an extensive mortgage fraud scheme affecting 210 residential properties, including 205 located in Continue Reading...
Robert Wilfred Stanley, 35, Katy, Texas, has been convicted of conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud as part of a scheme to defraud residential mortgage lenders and money laundering conspiracy.
As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud
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Aaron Dare, Albany, NY, pled guilty to (2) counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class “C” Felony in front of the Honorable Thomas Breslin. This plea comes as a result of crimes that were committed after Dare pled guilty to another set of federal charges and was sentenced, as previously Continue Reading...
