Archives For Mortgage Fraud

Lakewood family torn apart by a suspected mortgage fraud | KOMO

Rachel Dollar —  July 6, 2016 — Leave a comment

LAKEWOOD, Wash. — A Lakewood family has been torn apart by a suspected mortgage fraud. A Seattle woman is accused of cashing her aunt’s mortgage checks instead of paying off the loan, and the aunt believes there are dozens of scam victims.Sue Kahawaii and her family had lived in their Lakewood home for 27 years. Now they say they’ve lost it to foreclosure because of the actions of a loved one, Alicia Shefchik. They say she spent the money on world travel and Super Bowls.

Source: Lakewood family torn apart by a suspected mortgage fraud | KOMO

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Irving Fryar released after 8 months of 5-year prison sentence | ProFootballTalk

Rachel Dollar —  July 5, 2016 — Leave a comment

Former NFL wide receiver Irving Fryar is out of prison after serving just eight months of a five-year sentence for mortgage fraud.

Source: Irving Fryar released after 8 months of 5-year prison sentence | ProFootballTalk

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National Mortgage News – A New Type of Occupancy Fraud: Fake Investors

Rachel Dollar —  July 1, 2016 — 1 Comment

The scheme is used by borrowers who don t have enough income to qualify for a regular mortgage, so they apply for a higher rate non-owner-occupied loan.

Source: National Mortgage News – A New Type of Occupancy Fraud: Fake Investors

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Jury issues mixed decision in Thornburg fraud case | Albuquerque Journal

Rachel Dollar —  July 1, 2016 — Leave a comment

Former execs cleared on some charges

Source: Jury issues mixed decision in Thornburg fraud case | Albuquerque Journal

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Convicted Wading River Ponzi schemer indicted — again | Riverhead News Review

Rachel Dollar —  June 30, 2016 — Leave a comment

A disbarred Wading River attorney previously convicted in a $4 million real estate Ponzi scheme was indicted last month for wire fraud in connection with an alleged theft that occurred prior to her conviction, according to a federal indictment.

Source: Convicted Wading River Ponzi schemer indicted — again | Riverhead News Review

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Attorney Pleads Guilty for Concealing Incentives and Kickbacks

Rachel Dollar —  March 30, 2016 — Leave a comment

Angel Garcia-Oliver, 49, Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.  He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.

According to the plea agreement, Garcia-Oliver was the principal of Garcia-Oliver & Mainieri, P.A., a law firm located in Coral Gables, Florida.  Tribute Residential, LLC, which was owned by a co-conspirator, owned and sold multiple communities.  Garcia-Oliver, or employees working at his direction, served as settlement agents and conducted dozens of real estate closings for condominium units owned by Tribute, including Cypress Pointe in Orlando, Florida and the Villas at Lakeside in Oviedo, Florida. Continue Reading…

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Loan Officer Sentenced to 5 Month Prison Term

Rachel Dollar —  February 25, 2016 — Leave a comment

David B. Pick, Bowie, Maryland, was sentenced to 5 months imprisonment to be followed by 3 years supervised release.  He was ordered to pay restitution of $383,178.  He previously pled guilty to making false statements arising from a real estate closing.

As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, Pick was a loan originator respons Continue Reading…

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Prosecutors want pair in $52M mortgage fraud scheme sent back to prison

They lost their bid for a new trial in the largest mortgage fraud case in Nevada.

Now federal prosecutors want a judge to order former real estate broker Eve Mazzarella and her ex-husband, Steven Grimm, returned to prison to continue serving lengthy terms behind bars while they appeal their 2011 convictions.

“The ‘substantial questions’ of law and fact they raised to be released from prison have been resolved by this court in favor of the government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Griswold wrote in court papers filed late Monday.

 Posted by Rachel Dollar  onJanuary 4, 2016 In Mortgage Fraud
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Guilty Plea in Baltimore Row House Fraud

Rachel Dollar —  January 4, 2016 — 1 Comment

Cecil Sylvester Chester, 68, Mitchellville, Maryland pleaded guilty to charges arising from the fraudulent purchase of seven properties in Baltimore, Maryland, using fraudulent loan documentation and straw purchasers, resulting in losses of over $1.7 million.

“Mortgage fraud perpetrators steal by inducing lenders to make loans that will never be repaid, and they harm neighborhoods when the inevitable foreclosures drive down property values,” stated U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.

Chester worked as an accountant from an office located on New Hampshire Avenue in Hyattsville, Maryland.  Co-conspirator Andreas Tamaris,  44, Bel Air, Maryland, purchased, renovated, and then resold distressed row houses in Baltimore City, primarily in the Highlandtown,  Maryland.

According to his guilty plea, from February 2008 to July 2009, Chester and his co-conspirators, including Alexander Sivels, II, 32, Baltimore, Maryland, found buyers for Tamaris’ properties and for other property owners. Chester persuaded individuals, who were inexperienced with residential real estate transactions and who lacked the funds needed to pay the down payment and closing costs, to purchase Baltimore row houses owned by Tamaris or otherwise located by the conspirators. Chester advised these “straw purchasers” that they didn’t need to contribute funds for the down payment or closing costs to buy these properties. Chester also advised that he would place tenants in the properties whose rent payments would cover the monthly mortgage payments after the transactions closed, and that Chester would collect the rent and make the mortgage payments.

Chester and his co-conspirators set the purchase price for the properties to exceed their actual fair market value, thereby generating excess proceeds from the transactions from which they could profit.

The conspirators provided false information about the straw purchasers’ employment, income and financial assets, as well as fraudulent supporting documentation to the mortgage loan brokers to enable the straw purchasers to qualify for home mortgage loans. The conspirators falsely indicated to the mortgage loan brokers that the straw purchasers each intended to use the property as their primary residence following the purchase. Tamaris and other individuals supplied the funds needed for the down payment and closing costs on each of the transactions, and were in turn reimbursed from the loan proceeds at settlement.

Chester brought the straw purchasers to the closing, and then caused the straw purchasers to falsely sign certifications in the closing documents affirming that they intended to use the properties as their primary residence and that no portion of the down payment and closing costs were borrowed.  Following the settlement on each transaction in which they participated, Chester and the other conspirators received substantial payments drawn from the proceeds of the loan.

Few, if any, payments were made towards the mortgages.  All of the seven properties which Chester was involved in went into foreclosure, resulting in a loss of at least $1,482,207.

Chester faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud, and for wire fraud.  U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for March 23, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Cary A. Rubenstein of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge Brian Murphy of the United States Secret Service – Baltimore Field Office.

In a related proceeding involving two of the properties at issue in the instant case, co-conspiratorTamaris, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.  Sivels previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving the fraudulent purchase of at least nine properties in Baltimore.  Both Tamaris and Sivels are scheduled to be sentenced on September 27, 2016.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI , HUD OIG – Office of Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jefferson M. Gray, who is prosecuting the case.

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Maryland Developer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in $5.7M Bank Fraud

Rachel Dollar —  January 4, 2016 — Leave a comment

Samuel R. VanSickle, 51, Accident, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud arising from three fraudulent bank loans in which VanSickle received proceeds from the sale of real property in Garrett County, Maryland, and Cheat Lake, West Virginia, totaling over $5.7 million.

VanSickle and co-defendant Louis W. Strosnider, III, 49,  Oakland, Maryland, owned and developed property in Garrett County, Maryland. VanSickle used a number of different business names, including Freedom Church, Gospel Church, Equity Exchange, Unity Mortgage, Impartial Lenders, and Noble Forest Consultants, and aliases including “Donald Blunt,” “Jacob Aiken,” “Allen Helms,” and “Paul Walsh.”  Strosnider operated Stony Brook Development Company, located in McHenry, Maryland.

According to his plea agreement, from December 2001 to May 2005, VanSickle conspired with Strosnider for Strosnider to fraudulently obtain real estate loans from banks in connection with the purchase of properties controlled through aliases by VanSickle.  VanSickle concealed from the lenders his role as seller of the properties and recipient of the sales proceeds through fictitious identities such as “Donald Blunt, Trustee for Gospel Church,” “Donald Blunt, Trustee for Freedom Church,” “Equity Exchange,” “Unity Mortgage,” “Jacob Aiken” and “Allen Helms.” The scheme also involved fictitious down payments, inflated collateral, and false contracts.

For example, in 2002, VanSickle provided $600,000 for the purchase of Red Run, a restaurant and bed and breakfast which bordered on Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, Maryland.  In April 2003, VanSickle caused Red Run to be transferred for $0 to “Donald Blunt, Trustee for Gospel Church” – a fictitious church with a fictitious trustee.  In February 2004, Strosnider signed a contract to buy Red Run from Gospel Church for $3 million.  The contract recited a fictitious $750,000 down payment.  Strosnider applied to a bank for a loan to complete the purchase of Red Run.  When the bank required additional collateral, VanSickle supplied a timber contract for land in Garrett County with a valuation signed by “Paul Walsh” of “Noble Forest Consultants.”  Both “Noble Forest Consultants” and “Paul Walsh” were fictitious.  The settlement for the sale of the property was conducted by attorney Angela Blythe, 52, Oakland, Maryland.  Blythe failed to collect Strosnider’s funds to close the loan.  At VanSickle’s direction, Blythe paid over the sales proceeds of $1.6 million to “Unity Mortgage,” which was VanSickle.  “Unity Mortgage” did not, in fact, have a mortgage on Red Run.Strosnider and VanSickle used similar fraudulent methods in Strosnider’s purchase from VanSickle of 5.87 acres on State Park Road, bordering Deep Creek Lake, and 116 acres of undeveloped land on Cheat Lake, West Virginia.

VanSickle received over $5.7 million in sales proceeds from the fraudulent transactions.   Strosnider defaulted on all three loans. As a result of the scheme, the loss to the financial institutions was $2,755,102.50, the amount of the loans minus the recovery from foreclosure and sale of the collateral. VanSickle has agreed to forfeit and pay restitution in that amount, and forfeit his interest in 40 properties held in VanSickle’s name or in the names of nominees in Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, up to the value of $2,755,102.50.

VanSickle faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the conspiracy.  U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis scheduled sentencing for March 17, 2016, at 9:30 a.m.

The plea agreement was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Strosnider previously pleaded guilty to his participation in the conspiracy and awaits sentencing. In a related case, Blythe was convicted by a federal jury on October 9, 2015, after a nine day trial, of conspiring with VanSickle to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and two counts of making a false statement to a bank.  U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles sentenced Blythe to a year and a day in prison, and entered an order requiring Blythe to forfeit $696,517 and pay restitution of $948,203.25.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorney Joyce K. McDonald and Philip A. Selden, who are prosecuting the case.

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