Archives For False Documents

Man Sentenced for Real Estate Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  March 29, 2019 — Leave a comment

Brian Thomas Sapp, 38, formerly of Alexandria, Virginia was sentenced today to nine years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme that took in approximately $9 million and defrauded over 20 victims of $1.8 million.

According to court documents, Sapp from 2014 through 2018, committed wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in executing the scheme. Sapp preyed on his closest friends and their families, many of whom described Sapp as a “best friend” and “like a brother.” He caused financial hardship to many victims, including those with special needs children.

To execute the scheme, Sapp set up Novus Properties, claiming he had identified distressed single family homes in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, which he would purchase and then resell to guaranteed buyers. All he needed was investor funds to finance the property flips. On hundreds of occasions, Sapp fabricated a sophisticated set of interlocking purchase, sale, guarantee, and HUD-1 settlement documents to induce victims to part with money. He stole real identities of sellers and buyers and digitally forged their signatures hundreds of times. Sapp bragged that he was “killing it” and “dominating the market.” In reality, he never closed a single deal.

Instead, Sapp used investor money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including golf trips, meals out, and attending wealth-building seminars. Sapp spent $80,000 to purchase and customize a Mercedes van that he outfitted with special rooftop satellite TV antennas and flat screen TVs. Sapp loaded the van with professional grilling equipment, tents, food and beverage service stations, and other amenities so that he could host elaborate tailgating parties at Penn State football games, where he ate and drank with his victims at their expense, unbeknownst to them at the time.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Division, FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell L. Carlberg prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-446.

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

Jury Convicts Man in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  March 20, 2019 — 1 Comment

Erik Hermann Green, 37, Roseville, California was found guilty on Tuesday of three counts of wire fraud in a mortgage fraud scheme.

According to evidence presented at trial, Green was part of a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme to defraud the New Century Mortgage Company by submitting false documentation about employment, income and assets, including fraudulent loan applications and other altered bank documents. Around October 2006, when Green submitted his fraudulent loan applications to obtain a loan for $820,000, he was a licensed real estate sales person and managed approximately 15 loan officers. As part of the scheme, Green received a check for $100,000 that was funneled through a shell company at the close of escrow. Green used the funds for personal expenses.

Co-defendants Stephen Pirt and Janis Pirt previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Stephen Pirt was sentenced in 2015 to 25 months in prison and in 2014, Janis Pirt was sentenced to five years of probation with a year of home detention.

Green is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on June 13, 2019. Green faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conviction. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott made the announcement.

This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Anderson and Miriam R. Hinman are prosecuting the case.

 

In Mortgage Fraud ,
 permalink

Two Arraigned In Reverse Mortgage Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  March 18, 2019 — Leave a comment

Rafael Peralta, 46, Clifton, New Jersey, and Philip Puccio Jr., 40, Mahwah, New Jersey were arraigned today for their respective roles in a reverse mortgage scheme that took advantage of several elderly homeowners.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From November 2007 through December 2010, Peralta and Puccio, home repair contractors, allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), also known as reverse mortgage, proceeds by submitting inflated and fraudulent documentation to various victim banks to influence their decision to approve and fund HECMs. Peralta and Puccio recruited a conspirator to prepare inflated real estate appraisals that falsely increased the value of the properties securing the HECMs, thereby influencing each lender’s decision to provide loans in amounts greater than what would otherwise be available.

Peralta and Puccio also caused the submission of false and fraudulent loan documents that actively concealed the disbursement of loan proceeds to Peralta, Puccio, and entities they owned and controlled. The diverted loan proceeds were deposited into bank accounts controlled by Peralta and Puccio and used for their personal benefit and to further the conspiracy.

Peralta and Puccio Jr., were indicted February 8, 2019, by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and six counts of bank fraud. They were arraigned March 15, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court.

The conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud charges carry a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1 million, or twice the gross pecuniary gain by the defendants or twice the gross pecuniary loss to others, whichever is greater.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; and special agents of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading the charges.

The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Di Gregory and Charlie Divine of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of the Inspector General.

 

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

Guilty Plea In Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  March 15, 2019 — Leave a comment

Patrick Ogiony, 35, Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Between March 2011 and June 2017, the defendant conspired with co-defendants Frank Giacobbe, Kevin Morgan, Todd Morgan, and others, to defraud financial institutions, including Evans Bank, N.A.; UBS Securities LLC; M&T Bank; Arbor Commercial Mortgage LLC; SteepRock Capital, LLC; and Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, LLC.

During the course of the conspiracy, Ogiony was employed by Aurora Capital Advisors, LLC, a mortgage brokerage company owned and operated by Frank Giacobbe. Through Aurora, the defendant brokered mortgage loans on behalf of Morgan Management, LLC, a real estate management company that managed over 100 multi-family properties. Kevin Morgan was employed as a Vice President at Morgan Management, and Todd Morgan was employed as a Project Manager.

Ogiony, his co-defendants, and others provided false information to financial institutions and government sponsored enterprises overstating the incomes of properties owned by Morgan Management or certain principals of Morgan Management. The false information induced financial institutions to issue loans: (1) for greater values than the financial institutions would have authorized had they been provided with truthful information; and (2) that the financial institutions would not have issued at the time of issuance had they been provided with truthful information. Ogiony admitted that these properties included:

• The Preserve at Autumn Ridge, Watertown, NY;
• The Eden Square Apartments, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania;
• The Rochester Village Apartments at Park Place, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania;
• The Reserve at Southpointe, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania;
• 7100 South Shore Drive Apartments, Chicago, Illinois;
• The Avon Commons Apartments, Avon, NY;
• The Morgan Bay Apartments, Houston, Texas;
• Brookwood on the Green, Syracuse, NY;
• The Creek Hill Apartments, Rochester, NY;
• Hickory Hollow, Rochester, NY;
• The Knollwood Manor Apartments, Rochester, NY;
• The Links at Centerpointe, Canandaigua, NY;
• The Nineteen North Apartments, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;
• The Overlook at Golden Hills, Lexington, South Carolina;
• The Penbrooke Meadows Apartments, Rochester, NY;
• The Trails of North Hills Apartments, Raleigh, North Carolina;
• The Rivers Pointe Apartments, Syracuse, NY;
• The Union Square Apartments, Rochester, NY;
• The View at MacKenzi, York, Pennsylvania; and
• The Villas of Victor, Rochester, NY.

In addition, the defendant, his co-defendants, and others employed various mechanisms to mislead financial institutions regarding the properties’ occupancy. Ogiony specifically:

• provided false rent rolls to lenders and appraisers on a variety of dates, overstating either the number of renters in a property, the rent paid by occupants;
• provided or conspired to provide false and inflated income statements for the properties; and
• worked with others to deceive inspectors into believing that unoccupied apartments were, in fact, occupied.

In one such instance, Ogiony and his co-defendants provided false information to Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, LLC, in connection with The Rochester Village Apartments at Park Place, a multi-family residential apartment owned by Morgan Management principals. The information included falsely inflated income from storage unit rentals, false reports of rental income, and falsely reporting apartment units as occupied before certificates of occupancy were obtained for those units.

Also, Ogiony, his co-defendants, and others made misrepresentations and engaged in conduct designed to conceal from the lending financial institutions that they obtained cash from the loan proceeds, which was not used to purchase or maintain the premises. Ogiony, his co-defendants, and others did so by, at times, providing false documentation of obligations purportedly associated with the properties, and by misrepresenting the actual purchase prices of properties.

Defendant Kevin Morgan was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and is awaiting sentencing. Charges remain pending against Frank Giacobbe and Todd Morgan. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Manchak.

U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. made the announcement.

Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

CPA Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Charges

Stephanie Abbott —  February 25, 2019 — Leave a comment

David Plunkett, 53, Lynn, Massachusetts pleaded guilty today to assisting a multi-year mortgage fraud scheme by creating fraudulent tax returns and submitting fraudulent letters to lenders.

George Kritopoulos, 46, Salem, Massachusetts, one of the alleged leaders of the mortgage fraud scheme, was indicted in September 2018, and has pleaded not guilty. Co-conspirator, Joseph Bates III, 38, of Lynnfield, Massachusetts pleaded guilty in October 2018 to one count of conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and two counts of bank fraud.

According to the charging documents, from 2006 through 2015, Bates and others engaged in a scheme to defraud banks and other financial institutions by causing false information to be submitted to those institutions on behalf of borrowers, people recruited to purchase properties, located primarily in Salem, Massachusetts. The properties were usually multi-family buildings with two-to-four units, which the co-conspirators then converted into condominiums. The co-conspirators recruited other borrowers to purchase the individual condominium units, which were also financed by fraudulent mortgage loans.

The false information submitted to lenders included, among other things, representations concerning the borrowers’ employment, income, assets, and intent to occupy the property. Specifically, the false employment information included representations that borrowers were employed by entities that were, in fact, shell companies used to advance the fraudulent scheme. The employment information included false representations about the income that the borrowers received from the entities, when, in fact, the borrowers received little or no income from them.  Furthermore, the income asserted on the borrowers’ loan applications substantially overstated their true income. The false information also included representations that the recruited borrowers intended to live in the properties that they were purchasing, when the borrowers, in fact, did not intend to do so.

Plunkett assisted the scheme by preparing tax returns for some of the borrowers that contained false and inflated income. Some of those tax returns were submitted to lenders in support of the fraudulent loan applications. Plunkett also signed letters falsely representing that his CPA firm had prepared corporate tax returns for one of the shell entities, when in fact no such returns had ever been prepared or filed.

Because the borrowers did not have the financial ability to repay the loans, in many instances, they defaulted on their loan payments, resulting in foreclosures and millions of dollars of losses to the financial institutions. http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/?s=David+Plunkett

Plunkett plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aiding in the submission of false tax returns.

The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of aiding in filing a false tax return provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for June 25, 2019.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeastern Regional Office; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark J. Balthazard and Sara Miron Bloom of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

Sentencing in $4 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  February 13, 2019 — Leave a comment

Prakashumar (“Kash”) Bhakta was sentenced today for operating a mortgage fraud scheme throughout Southern California and the Inland Empire that preyed on homeowners facing foreclosure.

The fraud scheme stretched through San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles, counties, in California. Defendants convinced distressed homeowners that they could provide legal assistance to help save their home. They persuaded victims to pay them $3,500 to start; then $1,000 monthly; and separate fees for filing legal documents. Defendants filed and recorded numerous fraudulent documents, including false bankruptcies and false court filings. The scam defrauded lenders and other owners of their rightful possession of the residential properties. Meanwhile, the defendants took thousands of dollars from homeowner victims to perform fraudulent services. Bhakta, who was an integral part of the scheme, falsely notarized numerous fractional interest grant deeds without the presence of the person whose signature was being notarized. Bhakta, the last defendant to admit fault, pled guilty on November 28, 2018, to 113 felony charges, including conspiracy, grand theft, and filing false or forged documents.   http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/?s=Prakashumar

Mr. Bhakta was sentenced to seven years and eight months in state prison. Restitution will be ordered in the amount of $256,000. Co-defendants Jacob Orona, Aide Orona, John Contreras, Marcus Robinson, and David Boyd previously pled guilty. They were sentenced to state prison terms ranging from four years to seven years and four months.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra made the announcement.

“We have zero tolerance for scam artists who cheat vulnerable families by stealing their life savings and shattering their dreams of owning a home,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Today’s sentence should serve as a reminder: if you prey on hardworking Americans and betray their trust, my office will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

The guilty pleas and sentences result from a joint investigation by the California Department of Justice, Fraud and Special Prosecutions Section; the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of the Inspector General; and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

Man Sentenced for Stealing Homes, Illegally Transferring Titles & Filing False Documents

Stephanie Abbott —  January 9, 2019 — Leave a comment

Danny Noble, 49, Baldwin, New York was sentenced today to 4.5 to nine years in prison in connection with illegally transferring the titles of seven houses in Brooklyn, New York and two in Queens, New York from their true owners to himself or a corporation, then renting out some of the properties and selling others.

According to the indictment, between June 29, 2010 and March 31, 2015, the defendants falsely transferred title to seven Brooklyn properties: 71 Carlton Avenue, 104 Vanderbilt Avenue, 45 North Oxford Street and 70 Clermont Avenue, Fort Greene,; 1391 East 95th Street in Canarsie, 357 Jefferson Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant; 729 Essex Street in East New York all in Brooklyn, New York and two properties in Queens, New York: 94-05 108th Street in Jamaica and 187-05 Liberty Avenue in Hollis.

Five of the properties were transferred from the actual homeowners to Noble, according to the indictment, three were transferred to 69 Adelphi Street, LLC, and one to a third party. The defendants allegedly targeted the properties because the owners did not live in the houses and rarely visited them.

Once the titles were transferred, according to the indictment, the defendants carried out various scams in order to cash in on them. For example, Noble maintained control of 45 North Oxford Street, a recently renovated brownstone in Fort Greene, whose owner lived outside of the United States. Noble rented out two apartments in the brownstone, collecting $1,500 a month in rent for each of them. He also maintained control of the two houses in Queens, renting them out for various amounts.

In another facet of the scheme, concerning 1247 Putnam Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, Noble filed a fraudulent satisfaction of mortgage.

Furthermore, for example, with respect to 71 Carlton Avenue, 104 Vanderbilt Avenue, 70 Clermont Avenue, and 1391 East 95th Street, the defendants transferred the properties’ titles into the names of other, third parties.

Noble pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fourth-degree conspiracy before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on April 27, 2016 and was sentenced today to an indeterminate term of 4.5 to nine years in prison. His co-defendant, Romelo Grey, 41, Freeport, New York, pleaded guilty to falsifying business records on August 16, 2016, and was sentenced to 1.5 to 3 years in prison.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez made the announcement.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the scheme was discovered after Grey and Noble transferred the title to the Canarsie house at 1391 East 95th Street to a third party. Grey visited the house with the buyer to inspect it, and told the tenants living there that they had to move out. The buyer then began renovating the house and those workers caught the eye of an employee of a business across the street, which was actually owned by the true owner of 1391 East 95th Street. That employee called the owner of the property, who called police. Further investigation led to the defendants’ connections to the other properties.

As part of the scheme, Noble, the leader, filed false documents with the New York City Department of Finance, Office of the City Register, which maintains land records and other real property filings in New York City, including records relating to ownership and encumbrances, such as liens and mortgages.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, “In Brooklyn, we take real estate scams very seriously. The houses targeted in this fraud are worth millions of dollars. My prosecutors and investigators worked diligently to expose this fraudulent scheme and bring this defendant to justice.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Richard Farrell, Chief of the District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit, under the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division.

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

Man Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  December 26, 2018 — Leave a comment

George French Jones, Jr., 50,  Santa Monica, California, pled guilty on December 21, 2018, to mail fraud and identity theft charges in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme involving two waterfront residential properties in Broward County, Florida.

According to information disclosed in open court, in early 2018 Jones identified two residential properties in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which Jones fraudulently pledged as collateral in order to obtain mortgage loans from a private lender.

The two properties were owned by corporate entities that Jones had no affiliation with and which were in fact owned by independent third parties. To execute his fraudulent loan scheme, Jones created fake identification documents and email addresses in order to impersonate officers of the corporate owners of the two properties. Jones then submitted bogus loan applications and other documents to a private lender in which he pretended to be the owners of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida properties. As a result of this scheme, Jones defrauded the private lender out of approximately $1.7 million dollars.

Jones pled guilty to one count of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). At sentencing, Jones faces a maximum possible sentence of 22 years in prison.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola on March 1, 2018, at 8:30 a.m.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nalina Sombuntham is handling the asset forfeiture aspects of the prosecution.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

Three Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme Involving 14 Properties

Stephanie Abbott —  November 9, 2018 — Leave a comment

Surjit Singh, 72, Dublin, California, Rajeshwar Singh, 44, Pleasanton, California and Anita Sharma, 56, Gilroy, California were sentenced today for crimes relating to their involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme.

According to court documents, in 2006 and 2007, Surjit Singh recruited individuals with good credit to act as straw buyers for residential properties owned by his family members and associates. Rajeshwar Singh, a licensed real estate agent, assisted in the scheme by submitting loan applications for the straw buyers. Anita Sharma, a dental assistant at the time, was one of the straw buyers. Because Sharma and the other straw buyers could not afford the homes based on their true incomes, the Singhs submitted fraudulent loan applications and supporting material to lending institutions that included false statements about the straw buyers’ income, employment, liabilities, and intent to occupy the homes as their primary residences.

At least 14 properties were involved in the scheme. Anita Sharma alone purchased five homes in San Jose, San Ramon, Elk Grove, Sacramento, and Modesto, California. Other straw buyers purchased or refinanced properties in Stockton, Modesto, Patterson, Lathrop and Tracy, California. All of these homes were ultimately either foreclosed upon or sold in a short sale where the bank lets homeowners sell their homes for less than is owed on the mortgage.

Sharma was paid for her involvement in the scheme. Rajeshwar Singh received financial benefits through broker commissions for the transactions and as the seller of seven of the properties. He also continued to occupy the San Ramon property at a time when Anita Sharma should have been living there. Surjit Singh benefitted through payments out of escrow directed to shell companies, such as SJR Investments and BK Investments, which were associated with his daughter and significant other, whose initials are SJR and BK respectively. These payments were purportedly for contracting services, which did not occur. He also benefitted through rental payments made to him and his significant other by the renters of the homes, as the straw buyers were not living in the homes. In addition, many of his family members received money by selling properties and had money directed to them out of escrow. According to court documents and evidence produced at trial, the defendants were responsible for the origination of more than $9.3 million in fraudulently procured residential mortgage loans.

Surjit Singh was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison, his son, Rajeshwar Singh was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison on four counts of mail fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and four counts of false statements on loan and credit applications. Anita Sharma, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison on two counts of mail fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and two counts of false statements on loan and credit applications. Surjit Singh was ordered to pay a $2 million fine, $698,787 in restitution, and $847,000 in forfeiture. Raj Singh was ordered to pay a $1 million fine, $928,287 in restitution, and $838,399 in forfeiture. Anita Sharma was ordered to pay $603,180 in restitution and $30,000 in forfeiture.

Surjit Singh is in custody.  Rajeshwar Singh and Anita Sharma are scheduled to self‑surrender on January 9, 2019.

U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott made the announcement.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee S. Bickley, Kelli L. Taylor, and Kevin Khasigian prosecuted the case.

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink

Charges in Sophisticated Real Estate Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  November 8, 2018 — 1 Comment

Angela Grace Cotton, 46, Lawrence Edward Cotton, 52, Denaysha Coleman, 26, and Latrese Gevon Breaux, 26, California, have been charged today with running a sophisticated real estate scheme that resulted in the theft of more than $1.4 million.

From July 2014 through September 2016, Angela Cotton, assisted by her co-defendants, allegedly used fictitious escrow and title companies that she had created to deceive a lending company into believing it was funding two legitimate real estate transactions, according to Deputy District Attorney Daniel Kinney of the White Collar Crime Division’s Real Estate Fraud Section.

The group is accused of stealing the identities of nine people in order to facilitate the fictitious real estate sales. Along with the fake escrow and title companies, the defendants allegedly created a fictitious place of employment for one supposed homebuyer under whose name the two loans were approved, the prosecutor said.

To convince the lender of the legitimacy of the transactions and the entities involved, the defendants allegedly created fraudulent websites, emails and phone networks along with fake employment documentation and bank account statements from a non-existent financial institution for the borrower.

The lender transferred funds to a bank account it believed to be owned by a legitimate title company but was allegedly owned by one of the defendants.

The properties for which the defendants received loans were located in Los Angeles and La Cañada Flintridge, California and had not been listed for sale, the prosecutor added.

They are charged with 28 felony counts, including identity theft, forgery, mortgage fraud, grand theft of personal property, attempted grand theft of personal property, money laundering and counterfeit seal, according to the criminal complaint in case BA472018.

Additionally, Angela Cotton faces one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon with four priors, and Lawrence Cotton is charged with one felony count of receiving stolen property exceeding $950 in value.

The charges include allegations of fraud and embezzlement resulting in the loss of more than $500,000, taking property exceeding $1.3 million in value and theft of more than $100,000. The case was filed for arrest warrant on October 16, 2018.

Angela Cotton, Coleman and Breaux were arraigned this week and pleaded not guilty. A preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for December 6, 2018 in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Lawrence Cotton is still at large.

Angela Cotton was convicted in March 2010 in federal court for a similar real estate fraud scheme.

Angela and Lawrence Cotton each face a possible maximum sentence of 22 years and eight months in state prison if convicted as charged. Coleman and Breaux face a possible maximum sentence of 22 years in prison.

Bail was set at $1.41 million for Angela Cotton, $1 million for Coleman and $1.37 million for Breaux. The prosecutor is requesting bail for Lawrence Cotton be set at $1.39 million.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office made the announcement.

The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau.

In Mortgage Fraud , ,
 permalink