Jacqueline Besser, 60, San Francisco, California, pleaded guilty to making false statements in a loan application.
Archives For Mortgage Fraud
Gerard Canino, 51, Merrick, New York, the president and owner of First Class Equities (FCE), was sentenced in Manhattan, New York, federal court to 97 months in prison for his participation in a $66 million mortgage fraud scheme.
Stefan Mahaley, 52, Moreno Valley, California, suspected of committing real estate fraud, was arraigned on multiple counts of Forgery and Procuring and Offering False or Forged Instrument.
Karen Galo, 33, Key West, Florida, pleaded guilty to unlawfully disclosing a federal grand jury subpoena to a third party with the intent to obstruct a judicial proceeding. Galo faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison.
Samuel Ray Palasota, 52, Houston, Texas, has surrendered to federal authorities following the return of a 24-count indictment alleging he operated a fraudulent real estate investment scheme and defrauded a woman of $650,000.
Christian Hidalgo, Chula Vista, California, was sentenced to 57 months of custody by District Court Judge William Q. Hayes for a mortgage loan-modification scheme that cheated over 120 people out of over $670,000, and resulted in the loss of many homes to foreclosure.
Daniel Monteiro, 34, Wolcott, Connecticut, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering stemming from a mortgage fraud scheme.
James Kalpakis, 52, Old Westbury, New York, a disbarred attorney has been indicted on multiple felonies for stealing more than $4 million from multiple individuals and banks he was representing in real estate deals, including his own wife.
Safieh Fard, 52, Escondido, Calif., was sentenced to 63 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney. Fard was also ordered to pay $594,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for unpaid individual income taxes.
Robert M. Brannon, Laurel, Mississippi, and his son, Jason R. Brannon, Mobile, Alabama, both real estate investors, were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile, for their participation in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.