A mortgage fraud trial that began in mid-February 2010, concluded when the jury found all eight defendants guilty of various offenses related to their role in a mortgage fraud scheme they operated in the Dallas, Texas area, from March 2002 to January 2006.

Eric Rulack Farrington, Jr., 57, Irving, Texas, the lead defendant in the case, was the president of Eric Farrington Seminars,

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M. Dewey Bain, 59, Cumming, Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal district court to defrauding his clients of over $4.5 million in trust funds that he had misrepresented were in investments earning good returns on, among other things, loans to third parties that were allegedly secured by real estate.

According to the charges and other information presented in court: Between May 2006 and March 2009, Continue Reading...

Douglas Skibicki, 41, Bethesda, Maryland, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and bankruptcy fraud, in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme in which he allegedly defrauded lenders, family and others. The indictment was returned on March 31, 2010 and unsealed upon Skibicki‘s arrest.

According to the nine count

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Tom Ryder, 27, Henniker, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud relating to a scheme to defraud lenders by acquiring real estate through straw purchasers using false and fictitious information. Ryder was also sentenced to three years of supervised release to begin after he is released from

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Kathy Chen, 49, Westminster, California, a real estate broker, faces trial for conspiring with her boyfriend and his brother to commit $17.5 million in real estate fraud by purchasing 35 properties using stolen identities and intentionally defaulting on loans in order to steal the loan money. Chen is charged with 157 felony counts including one count of conspiracy, 47 counts

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Kamau Herndon, 38, Portland, Oregon, was sentenced on March 29, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Garr M. King to serve 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of aggravated identity theft. Herndon must also serve one year of supervised release following his prison term. The defendant was ordered to report to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons on June 1, 2010.

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Gary T. Johnson, 60, Groton, Connecticut, has been found guilty of four counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in illegal monetary transactions while operating his former mortgage lending business.

As previously reported on Mortgage Fraud Blog and according to the evidence presented during

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Michael Anthony Prieskorn, 35, Ellendale, Minnesota, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges stemming from a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in losses of at least $20 million for mortgage lenders. Prieskorn was charged with orchestrating the scheme, which involved the purchase of approximately 70 residential properties in Continue Reading...

Terral Toole, 42, Lake Elsinore, California, was sentenced to 85 months and ordered to pay $291,055 in restitution to three financial institutions for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme.

Toole pleaded guilty in November 2009 to four counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering for his

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Nefrititi Luv a/k/a Phlecia Pierce a/k/a Phlecia Rice (Luv), 49, an Arizona resident, pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco, California, to mail fraud and failure to file a tax return.  

In pleading guilty, Luv, admitted that between November 2005 and January 2006, she submitted false loan applications and other documents in connection with the

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