Archives For fraudulent loan applications

12 charged in multi-year mortgage fraud scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  September 21, 2020 — Leave a comment

Eric Hill, 50, Tyrone, Georgia (charged by Information); Robert Kelske, 52, Smyrna, Georgia; Fawziyyah Connor, 41, Tyrone, Georgia; Stephanie Hogan, 57, Norcross, Georgia; Jerod Little, 42, McDonough, Georgia; Renee Little, 33, McDonough, Georgia; Maurice Lawson, 36, Powder Springs, Georgia; Todd Taylor, 54,  Fairburn, Georgia; Paige McDaniel, 49, Stockbridge, Georgia; Donald Fontenot, 52, Locust Grove, Georgia (charged by Information); Anthony Richard, 44,  Locust Grove, Georgia; Cephus Chapman, 49, Warner Robins, Georgia, have been charged in a mortgage fraud scheme allegedly spanning more than four years and resulting in the approval of more than 100 mortgages based on fabricated documents and false information.

According to the indictment, and other information presented in court: The defendants participated in a scheme in which homebuyers and real estate agents submitted fraudulent loan applications to induce mortgage lenders to fund mortgages.  Listing agents Eric Hill and Robert Kelske represented a major nationwide homebuilder, and helped more than 100 homebuyers who were looking to buy a home, but who were unqualified to obtain a mortgage, commit fraud.  The agents instructed the homebuyers as to what type of assets they needed to claim to have in the bank, and what type of employment and income they needed to submit in their mortgage applications.

Hill and Kelske then coordinated with multiple document fabricators, including defendants Fawziyyah Connor and Stephanie Hogan, who altered the homebuyers’ bank statements to inflate the their assets and to create bank entries reflecting false direct deposits from an employer selected by the real estate agent.  The document fabricators also generated fake earnings statements that matched the direct deposit entries to make it appear that the homebuyer was employed, and earning income, from a fake employer.  Other participants in the scheme then acted as employment verifiers and responded to phone calls or emails from lenders to falsely verify the homebuyers’ employment.  Defendants Jerod Little, Renee Little, Maurice Lawson, Todd Taylor, Paige McDaniel and Donald Fontenot acted as employment verifiers.  Hill and Kelske coordinated the creation and submission of the false information so that the lies to the lenders were consistent.

In another aspect of the scheme, real estate agents Anthony Richard and Cephus Chapman falsely claimed to represent homebuyers as their selling agents in order to receive commissions from the home sales.  In reality, these real estate agents had never even met the homebuyers they claimed to represent.  To avoid detection, the agents often notified closing attorneys that they would not be available for the home closing, and sent wire instructions for the receipt of their commissions.  When these purported selling agents received their unearned commissions, they kicked back the majority of the commissions to Hill or Kelske for enabling them to be added to the deal, keeping a small share for their role in the scheme.

Many of the loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) resulting in claims being paid for mortgages that have gone through loan modification.

“These defendants allegedly used their knowledge of the real estate lending process to manipulate the system for their own benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Mortgage fraudsters threaten the soundness of the real estate market in our community.  We will investigate and charge anyone who takes advantage of our mortgage lending system for their own personal gain.”

“These charges represent the government’s commitment toward combating such alleged criminal activity,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We will steadfastly protect American citizens and the real estate market from predators who drag down our economy by deceit to line their own pockets.”

“What we have here is a group of mortgage industry professionals that have allegedly perpetrated a sophisticated mortgage fraud for profit scheme that was designed to enrich themselves at the expense of a federal housing program,” said Wyatt Achord, Special Agent in Charge, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “The efforts that brought forward these charges demonstrate that when law enforcement is made aware of such schemes, we will commit the necessary resources to make sure that fraudsters are brought to justice.”

“As charged, the defendants engaged in a multiyear scheme to defraud Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG) will investigate and hold accountable those who seek to victimize these Government Sponsored Entities supervised and regulated by FHFA”, said FHFA-OIG Special Agent in-Charge Edwin Bonano.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment and informations only contain charges.  The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Prout is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern

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Former Delta Homes & Lending Inc. Employees Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  February 5, 2020 — Leave a comment

Ruben Rodriguez, 43, and Jaime Mayorga, 41, both of Sacramento, California were convicted and were sentenced, yesterday, each to two years in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud at a jury trial in April 2019.

According to court documents, between October 2004 and May 2007, Rodriguez and Mayorga were employees of Delta Homes and Lending Inc., a now-defunct Sacramento-based real estate and mortgage lending company that was founded by co-defendant Moctezuma “Mo” Tovar, 50, Sacramento, California. Rodriguez, Mayorga, Tovar, and other Delta Homes employees and co-defendants Manuel Herrera, Davis, California, Sandra Hermosillo, 57, Woodland, California,  Jun Michael Dirain, 47, Antelope, California and Christian Parada Renteria, 43, formerly of Sacramento, California agreed to commit fraud to obtain home loans from mortgage lenders. As part of the scheme, Rodriguez and Mayorga submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications and supporting documents, which falsely represented the borrowers’ assets and income, liabilities and debts, employment status, citizenship status, and intent to occupy the property. Rodriguez and Mayorga also provided money to the borrowers in order to inflate their bank account balances. Once the loans were secured, the borrowers returned the money. The aggregate sales price of the homes involved in the overall conspiracy was in excess of $10 million. As a result of the conspiracy, mortgage lenders and others suffered losses of at least $4 million. http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/?s=delta+home+%26+Lending

Tovar was sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison. Herrera was sentenced to one year in prison. Dirain was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by six months of home detention. Hermosillo, was sentenced to nine months of home detention. Parada Renteria pleaded guilty to two counts of concealing felonies related to the wire fraud conspiracy, and was previously sentenced to serve 1 year in prison.

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 Brian A. Fogerty and Justin L. Lee prosecuted the case.

 

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Man Charged with Mortgage Fraud

Stephanie Abbott —  January 8, 2020 — 1 Comment

Cabral Simpson, 43, Belleville, New Jersey, was arraigned today on charges that he engaged in a conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud that resulted in potential losses in excess of $1 million.

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

Simpson, a real estate investor, and his conspirators engaged in mortgage fraud by creating fake bank statements and fake employee verification records for buyers of properties and transferring money into the buyers’ bank accounts for payment of the deposit for a property. Simpson and his conspirators submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications, supporting documents, and closing documents on behalf of the buyers. They induced lenders to issue more than $1 million in loans, resulting in defaults and exposing the lenders and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to more than $1 million in potential losses. 

The conspiracy and wire fraud counts with which Simpson is charged each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss or gain caused by the offense.

Simpson appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court. He is charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to the indictment.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Man Sentenced in Multimillion Dollar Mortgage &Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  November 15, 2019 — Leave a comment

Omar Anabo, 57, Vallejo, California has been sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy to make false statements on loan applications and ordered to pay $379,068 in restitution to victims of the conspiracy.

According to court documents, between Oct. 2004 and May 2007, Anabo and co‑conspirators Sergio Roman Barrientos, 66, and Zalathiel Aguila, 46, operated Capital Access LLC in Vallejo, a company that preyed on homeowners nearing foreclosure. The defendants convinced homeowners to sign over the title to their homes to Capital Access and then spent any equity those homeowners still had, which was then used for operational expenses of the scheme and personal expenses of Anabo and his co-conspirators. http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/?s=Omar+Anabo

The defendants also used straw buyers to obtain home loans under false pretenses and defraud federally insured financial institutions out of millions of dollars. Vulnerable homeowners across California lost their homes and savings as a result of the scheme, and lenders lost an estimated $10.47 million from the fraud.

Barrientos was sentenced on Nov. 2, 2018, to 14 years in prison for his role in the scheme. Aguila was sentenced on July 26, 2019, to four years in prison.

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

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew M. Yelovich and Christina McCall prosecuted the case.

 

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Former Delta Homes & Lending Inc. Employee Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  November 4, 2019 — Leave a comment

Manuel Herrera, 39, Davis, California was sentenced today to serve one year in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud.

According to court documents, between October 2004 and May 2007, Herrera was an employee of Delta Homes and Lending Inc., a now-defunct Sacramento-based real estate and mortgage lending company that was founded by co-defendant Moctezuma “Mo” Tovar, 50, Sacramento, California. Herrera, Tovar, and other Delta Homes employees and co-defendants agreed to commit fraud to obtain home loans from mortgage lenders. As part of the scheme, Herrera submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications and supporting documents, which falsely represented the borrowers’ assets and income, liabilities and debts, employment status, citizenship status, and intent to occupy the property. Herrera also provided money to the borrowers in order to inflate their bank account balances. Once the loans were secured, the borrowers returned the money to Herrera. The aggregate sales price of the homes involved in the overall conspiracy was in excess of $10 million. As a result of the conspiracy, mortgage lenders and others suffered losses of at least $4 million.

Herrera is the fifth defendant sentenced as part of the scheme. Co-defendant Tovar was sentenced to four and a half years in prison; Jun Jun Michael Dirain, 47, Antelope, California was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by six months of home detention; Sandra Hermosillo, 57, Woodland, California was sentenced to nine months of home detention; Christian Parada Renteria, 43, formerly of Sacramento, California was sentenced to serve one year in prison.

Co-defendants Jaime Mayorga, 40, and Ruben Rodriguez, 42, both of Sacramento, California were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud at a jury trial. They are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on December 10, 2019. Each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 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 was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian A. Fogerty and Justin L. Lee prosecuted the case.

 

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Man Sentenced For His Role In Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  July 19, 2019 — Leave a comment

Daniel Badu, 56, New City, New York, was convicted today of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

Between 2008 and 2009, the defendant conspired with others to defraud The Funding Source (“TFS”), a mortgage bank, and other financial institutions by submitting fraudulent applications for home loans.  After being originated by TFS, the loans were sold to other financial institutions, including M&T Bank and JPMorgan Chase. http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/?s=Daniel+Badu

The co-conspirators in this case submitted fraudulent applications for loans on eight properties in Bronx, New York. They fraudulently obtained mortgages that were insured by FHA on behalf of unqualified borrowers, such as the defendant. Badu was the purchaser on two of the properties and he aided in the submission of false documentation as part of the loan application, including documents purporting to show income from a fake job. The defendant also backstopped false employment for another loan, pretending that the borrower worked for his ophthalmology company, Eagle Eyes, which in reality was a shell company that performed no business.
The total loan amount for these eight transactions was $4,800,007.

In total, six defendants have pleaded guilty for their roles in this fraud. Attorney Laurence Savedoff, Esq. pleaded guilty to a misprision of a felony and was sentenced to four months in prison. Realtor and appraiser Julio Rodriguez pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and a conspiracy to do the same, and was sentenced to six months in prison. Sentencing hearings are pending for mortgage broker Gregory Gibbons, and realtors Tina Brown and Alagi Samba.

Badu was sentenced to time served and 10 months home detention.

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

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service under the direction of Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector-in-Charge, Boston Division; the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Brad Geary; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.  Additionally, the New York State Department of Financial Services assisted with the investigation.

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Pair Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Conspiracy

Stephanie Abbott —  April 24, 2019 — Leave a comment

Jaime Mayorga, 40, and Ruben Rodriguez, 42, both of Sacramento, California were found guilty, on Tuesday, after a six-day trial, on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

On July 14, 2011, Mayorga, Rodriguez, and five others were charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The defendants, including Mayorga and Rodriguez, worked for Delta Homes & Lending, a Sacramento, California, based real estate and mortgage lending company that falsified home loan applications to obtain mortgage loans for borrowers, many of whom did not and could not qualify for a loan without the lies submitted by Delta employees. Mayorga and Rodriguez were real estate agents and loan officers. The now defunct Delta Homes was founded by co-defendant Moctezuma “Mo” Tovar, 49, Sacramento, California.

According to court documents, Delta opened one office in 2003 and eventually had multiple offices in Sacramento, with additional branch offices in Woodland, Yuba City, and Southern California. Rodriguez and Mayorga both started working at the original Delta office on Enterprise Drive in Sacramento. Later, they both moved to a branch on Franklin Boulevard, and Rodriguez went on to work at other Delta branches, including a large branch office located on Howe Avenue.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Delta targeted the Latino community with advertisements in Spanish that heralded the company’s ability to obtain home loans for borrowers who otherwise would not qualify for a mortgage. In addition to advertisements in which Delta claimed to be “Hispanics Serving Hispanics,” Delta employees solicited clients at flea markets and by going door-to-door through the community.

In order to obtain mortgages, the defendants falsified information on loan applications regarding the clients’ income, occupation, and personal savings. Straw buyers were sometimes used when the true borrower did not have a sufficient credit score to qualify. The defendants also deposited money into borrowers’ bank accounts to meet the lenders’ requirement that the borrower have money on hand, taking the money back after acquiring the verification of deposited funds that the lenders also required.

The evidence at trial showed that the defendants’ fraud was also personally lucrative. During the investigation, Rodriguez estimated that in 2006 alone, he earned more than $400,000. Similarly, Mayorga told agents that although he earned a salary when he started at Delta, he shifted to commission-based compensation and then earned between 50 and 85 % of the brokerage fees. Mayorga stated that he earned more than $500,000 in 2005.

The aggregate sale price of the homes involved in the conspiracy was in excess of $10 million, and as a result of the conspiracy, mortgage lenders and others suffered losses of at least $4 million.

Co-defendants Tovar, Manuel Herrera, 39, Davis, California; Sandra Hermosillo, 57,  Woodland, California; and Jun Michael Dirain, 46, Antelope, California all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Christian Parada-Renteria, 43, Woodland, California pleaded guilty to two counts of concealing felonies related to the wire fraud conspiracy.

Rodriguez and Mayorga are scheduled to be sentenced on August 6, 2019 by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez. The court has not yet set a sentencing date for Tovar, Herrera, Hermosillo, and Dirain. Parada-Renteria was sentenced to serve one year in prison.

Each of the defendants faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentences, 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.

U.S. Attorney Scott stated: “Mayorga and Rodriguez took advantage of members of the Latino community who hoped to become homeowners and manipulated the real estate process for personal gain. As so often occurs in these cases, the result was losses to the financial institutions and neighborhoods burdened with foreclosed properties. We are grateful for the diligence and professionalism of the FBI in investigating this case.”

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian A. Fogerty and Justin L. Lee are prosecuting the case.

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Man Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

Stephanie Abbott —  April 12, 2019 — Leave a comment

George French Jones, Jr., 50, Santa Monica, California, was sentenced to 116 months in prison today after previously pleading guilty 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. http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/?s=George+French+Jones%2C+Jr

The two Broward County 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 properties. As a result of this scheme, Jones defrauded the private lender out of approximately $1.7 million dollars.

Jones was also ordered to pay $1,824,581 in restitution.

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 was 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.

 

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Man Sentenced for Defrauding Mortgage Lending Institutions

Stephanie Abbott —  October 26, 2018 — 1 Comment

James Bayfield, 46, Queens, New York was sentenced today to 21 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

Bayfield, a self-described mortgage specialist, was convicted by a federal jury in January 2017 for his role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/?s=James+Bayfield

Between September 2008 and May 2011, Bayfield and his co-conspirators caused mortgage loan applications with false information to be submitted to lending institutions, including Amtrust, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, in connection with the purchase of residential properties located in Brooklyn and Queens, New York.  These applications contained fraudulently inflated purchase prices and false information about the assets and income of the purported purchasers, many of whom were paid to act as straw purchasers.  Bayfield and his co-conspirators also provided false down payment checks to make it appear as if the straw purchasers and other borrowers had made down payments on the properties.

To complete their scheme, Bayfield and his co-conspirators conducted simultaneous and secretive purchases and sales of the properties, sometimes called “flips,” at inflated prices.  Ultimately, the lending institutions issued millions of dollars of mortgage loans secured by properties with inflated appraisal values, and many of these loans were placed into default status.

Bayfield was also ordered to pay $184,651 in forfeiture.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentencing.

“Bayfield has portrayed himself as a mortgage specialist, but now stands exposed as a convicted thief who used his knowledge of real estate transactions to carry out his fraudulent schemes against lending institutions,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “This Office will continue working with our law enforcement partners to vigorously prosecute those who commit mortgage fraud and enrich themselves at the expense of lenders left holding the loans.”  Mr. Donoghue thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General; and the New York State Department of Financial Services for their hard work and dedication over the course of this multi-year investigation and prosecution.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys David C. Pitluck, Mark E. Bini and Michael T. Keilty are in charge of the prosecution.

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CoreLogic Reports a 12.4 Percent Year-over-Year Increase in Mortgage Fraud Risk

Stephanie Abbott —  September 13, 2018 — Leave a comment

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its latest Mortgage Fraud Report. The report shows a 12.4 percent year-over-year increase in fraud risk at the end of the second quarter, as measured by the CoreLogic Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index.

Source: CoreLogic Reports a 12.4 Percent Year-over-Year Increase in Mortgage Fraud Risk for the Second Quarter of 2018 | Business Wire

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