Michael R. Anderson, 46, attorney, Framingham, Massachusetts, was sentenced to two years in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $11,048,212 in restitution and forfeit $7,413,712 in connection with a multi-year, multi-property mortgage fraud scheme in Dorchester and Roxbury, Massachusetts. In January 2011, Anderson pleaded guilty to sixteen counts of wire fraud, nine counts of bank fraud, and two counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. Continue Reading…
Archives For Down Payment Fraud
Timothy L. Ritchie, 44, Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty to making false statements arising from a real estate closing.
Ritchie owned and operated Richland Homes, Inc., and was in the business of building, purchasing and selling homes.
According to his plea agreement, on July 7, 2005, Ritchie attended a residential closing for his purchase of three lots located at 24058 St. Michael’s Road, St. Michael’s, Maryland. John L. Davis, 55, real estate agent, Chestertown, Maryland, conducted the closing, and listed Ritchie on the HUD statement as the buyer/ borrower. The HUD statement falsely stated that Ritchie provided $1,153,937.23 in cash at the closing. In fact, Ritchie did not provide any funds to Davis at the closing. As a result of the false statement, Ritchie fraudulently obtained approximately $2,445,102 from a mortgage lender by wire transfer to fund the settlement.
Ritchie faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett scheduled his sentencing for January 14, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
John L. Davis previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud arising from his participation in the scheme, and awaits sentencing. Davis admitted that the loss arising from his participation in the scheme is between $400,000 and $1 million.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Rene Febles of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge Fran Mace, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FHFA – OIG and FDIC – OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin V. DiGregory and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O. Gavin, who are prosecuting the case.
Kevin Campbell, 53, Pyesville, Maryland, was sentenced to 19 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to commit mail, wire and bank fraud arising from mortgage fraud schemes resulting in losses totaling approximately $1.2 million and was ordered to pay restitution of $1,182,822.
Jonathan L. Miles, 45, Perry Hall, Maryland to 18 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to commit bank fraud, and entered an order that Miles pay restitution of $1,182,822.
Campbell invested in Baltimore residential real estate, and controlled four companies that bought and sold residential real estate: KMJ Realty LLC; E&W Realty LLC; C Realty LLC; and City Realty LLC. Miles was a loan officer for a mortgage brokerage company formerly located in Reisterstown, Maryland. Continue Reading…
Selim Zherka, 47, businessman, Somers, New York, pled guilty to conspiring to make false statements to a bank in order to receive millions of dollars in loans and to file materially false tax returns with the IRS. As part of his plea agreement, Zherka agreed to forfeit $5.23 million.
According to the Superseding Information filed in White Plains federal court and other court documents filed in the case: From December 2005 through the present, Zherka conspired with others to obtain $63.5 million in loans from Sovereign Bank (now Santander), for the purchase and/or refinancing of apartment house complexes in Tennessee by lying about the purchase price of the real estate he was acquiring and the amount of the down payment he was making toward the purchase in question. Continue Reading…
Howard Goldsmith, real estate developer, 41, Raleigh, North Carolina, was sentenced to a 30 month term of imprisonment for his role in a down payment fraud scheme. According to documents filed in Court, between August of 2006 and February of 2009, Goldsmith and his conspirators carried out a fraud upon various banks and lenders using entities Goldsmith owned or controlled, including Ganyard Farm Construction and Baldwin Estates. Continue Reading…
Alberic Okou Agodio, 30, Bethesda, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, arising from a mortgage fraud scheme. He used the names of immigrants and students, along with false financial information, to obtain approximately $3.8 million in home mortgage loans. He bought approximately three dozen row houses in Baltimore, all of which are in default or foreclosure. Continue Reading…
Brenda Ann Blair, 37, loan officer, Bonita Springs, Florida, formerly of Goochland County, Virginia, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for participating in a fraud scheme that obtained approximately $2.4 million worth of mortgage backed loans from federally backed financial institutions. Continue Reading…
Joseph Brogan, St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 14 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $350,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to multiple fraud charges related to a scheme involving applications for home loans.
According to court documents, Brogan was employed as a loan officer for USA Mortgage, Inc. where he handled both conventional mortgages and FHA loans. Michael Wallis owned and operated a company known as Missouri Builders and Home Remodeling (Missouri Builders), which performed interior construction and remodeling work on houses. Continue Reading…
Stavroula Mendez, 68, real estate developer, was sentenced to 135 months in prison; Lazaro Mendez, 42, real estate developer, was sentenced to 108 months in prison; and Marie Mendez, 49, real estate developer, was sentenced to 57 months in prison in connection with their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme that caused losses of $27.8 million. U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz of the Southern District of Florida also ordered each of the defendants to forfeit $35,252,331 in fraudulent proceeds and to pay $21,240,064 in restitution. In November 2014, all three defendants were convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy. Eleven other co-conspirators were previously convicted of fraud in connection with the scheme. Continue Reading…
Orlando Vera, 55, Whittier, California, pleaded guilty to one felony charge of mortgage lending fraud in Nevada, a category “B” felony. His plea was a result of his role in a scheme to cheat several hopeful homebuyers out of $904,861. A month earlier, Vera’s co-defendant, Juan Robles, 35, Las Vegas, Nevada pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor for the same scam. Their crimes were committed between November 2012 and January 2014.
Vera schemed to defraud potential Nevada homebuyers by promising to purchase houses using their substantial savings as down payments, but ultimately failed to buy the houses. Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Kerry Earley will sentence Vera and Robles at a date to be determined. A third co-defendant, Christian Delgado, 39, Las Vegas, Nevada, will stand trial on April 4, 2016 for his role in the scheme. Continue Reading…