Jon Weldon James, 33, Long Beach, California, a man who collected $33 million from investors with false claims of large profits from real estate investments, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for running the Ponzi scheme. United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner also ordered the defendant to pay $11,172,412 in restitution.
James pleaded guilty in
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Douglas Ballard, 40, Atlanta, Georiga, pleaded guilty in federal district court to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and to receive bribes, and to one count of tax evasion, and Joseph Todd Foster, 42, pleaded guilty to securities fraud. Ballard and Foster, Atlanta,
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John L. Chaffo, Jr., 50, Murrysville, Pennsylvania has been found guilty of two counts of Wire Fraud Conspiracy and nine counts of Wire Fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme.
As previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog and the evidence presented at trial established that Continue Reading...
Eric Koppelman, 49, Hauppauge, New York, a former title closer, was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a scheme to steal over $6 million in proceeds of home mortgage loans. The stolen funds were intended to be used to pay off existing mortgages on the properties.
As previously Continue Reading...
Sharon Michelle Thomas, 39, Otsego, Minnesota, pleaded guilty in federal court in St. Paul before United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle to participating in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in a $400,000 loss to several mortgage loan lenders. Thomas pled guilty one count of aiding and abetting mail fraud. Thomas
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Donna Larson, 52, Marshfield, Massachusetts has been indicted in connection with allegedly trying to delay or avoid foreclosure of a home mortgage by falsely reporting the death of a child to her mortgage company, and thereafter knowingly falsifying information in an affidavit filed in Brockton, Massachusetts Superior Court.
In September 2008, the Attorney General’s Office began an investigation after Continue Reading...
The Federal/State Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force announced results of “Operation Stolen Dreams,” the Task Force’s effort to combat mortgage fraud.
Iowa Assistant Attorney General Patrick Madigan represented Attorney General Tom Miller at the news conference at the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Miller is a leader of the State Attorneys General in the Mortgage Fraud Working Group, a key part of the broader Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
Miller’s office is working on
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Operation Stolen Dreams, which targeted mortgage fraudsters in the Eastern District of Texas and throughout the country is the largest collective enforcement effort ever brought to bear in confronting mortgage fraud.
George M. Baehr, Jr., 35, Dallas, Texas pleaded guilty to an Information on June 16, 2010, charging him with mail fraud. Baehr entered his plea before U.S.
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Marie Decosta Quintana, 40, North Miami, Florida, as a result of an investigation led by the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force. The defendant was arrested Tuesday, June 29, 2010, and made her initial court appearance in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The two-count indictment charges defendant Quintana with making false statements on loan applications to Continue Reading...
James Dan, 45, Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme which promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes, but left them homeless and with no equity.
According to his plea agreement, James Dan met an associate
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