Peter Bakowski, 59, Tampa, Florida, the mastermind behind a $20 million mortgage fraud related Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 188 months (15 years, 8 months) in federal prison and ordered to pay $16.1 million in restitution.

According to court documents, Bakowski was a licensed mortgage broker at the time he perpetrated his scheme, misusing his credentials to sell the

Robert R. Anderson, 59, Mt. Prospect, Illinois, was arrested on federal fraud charges for allegedly operating a “Ponzi” scheme in which he fraudulently obtained about $12 million from approximately 70 investors who were promised extraordinary returns from a purported real estate business. Anderson was charged with wire fraud in a criminal complaint that was unsealed after he

Gerald L. Wolfe, 41, Corona del Mar, California, an attorney, has been indicted on charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme in which 30 homes were purchased at inflated prices, with the excess proceeds going to the lawyer and other members of the conspiracy. Wolfe, who was formerly also a registered real estate broker, was named in a one-count indictment by a federal

Dale Charles Dodge, Jr., 61, Alexandria, Minnesota, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen in federal court on charges connected to a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders and others out of more than $800,000. Dodge received 34 months in prison on one count of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with property derived

Wells Fargo Bank has entered into a settlement that provides loan modifications for residents in Washington and seven other states who obtained problematic mortgages from Wachovia Bank and Golden West Corp., which did business as World Savings Bank.

At least 400 Washington borrowers who received payment option adjustable-rate mortgages will be eligible for loan modifications that will provide more than $29 million in mortgage relief, McKenna said. This sum includes nearly $12 million