40 individuals have been arrested and charged in connection with a major mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas. The 16-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on March 10, 2010, and includes one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 12 counts of mail fraud, and three counts of money laundering.
The 40 defendants, from Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Georgia, are charged as follows:
Ed Veronick Mortgage Loans, Inc., and its corporate officers and employees, were sued in a civil action for conspiracy and illegal business practices between June 2004 and June 2007 to obtain an unfair advantage over competitors and earn illegal profits out of commissions on loans brokered by unlicensed persons. A civil judgment has been obtained against Ed Veronick Mortgage Loans,
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Office is warning the public to remain on the lookout for scams involving real estate and rental properties. Two largely reported scams, which operate through Internet advertising, are being reported by individuals who have fallen victim to such malicious behavior.
The first type of scam occurs when an individual advertises a rental property and is contacted by someone claiming to be interested. A rental price is agreed-upon and the victim
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Brian Ragauckas, 36, Secaucus, New Jersey, a police officer, was arrested based on a Complaint charging him with bank fraud in connection with a $529,777 mortgage loan that he obtained through false representations to the former Countrywide Bank FSB.
According to the Complaint, Ragauckas and his wife own
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Gerald James Greenfield, 64, Bloomington, Minnesota, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud through the use of wires, four counts of mortgage fraud by means of interstate wire, one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with criminally derived property. Nicholas Ryan Delon
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John A. Bui, 46, of San Jose, California was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $3,500,000 in forfeiture as a result of his convictions for conspiring to commit wire fraud, destruction of records in a federal investigation, and witness tampering.
As previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog and per court Continue Reading...
Shih Siang Shawn Liao, 35, Manhattan, New York, an international businessman has been sentenced to three to nine years in state prison for having used a forged power of attorney to unlawfully obtain a mortgage on his mother-in-law’s condominium in the Little Neck section of Queens, New York and steal more than $300,000. The
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FinCEN joins with other Federal, State and Local government agencies and consumer protection organizations to recognize the 12th Annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 7-13. This coordinated consumer education campaign encourages individuals across the country to take full advantage of their consumer rights.
FinCEN provides a number of special resources to educate consumers, and the financial institutions that serve them, of potential fraud and scam attempts. FinCEN’s rules
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William Warren Baker, 57, Laguna Nigel, California, was arrested for stealing over $900,000 from investors in a Ponzi scheme by fraudulently promising to buy, refurbish, and re-sell distressed homes for a profit. Baker is charged with 13 felony counts of using untrue statements in the purchase or sale of securities and 13 felony counts of selling securities in issuer transactions
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John Melchionna, 42, a former Linden, New Jersey, resident was arrested and charged with 13 separate counts after an investigation revealed that he used another man’s identity to secure $270,000 in loans. Melchionna a faces charges of theft by deception, identity theft and forgery.
According to the complaints, Melchionna
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