David B. Pick, Bowie, Maryland, was sentenced to 5 months imprisonment to be followed by 3 years supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution of $383,178. He previously pled guilty to making false statements arising from a real estate closing.
As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, Pick was a loan originator respons Continue Reading…
Louis Marandola, 41, attorney, Providence, Rhode Island; Brian R. McCaffrey, 38, licensed loan originator, East Greenwich, Rhode Island; Raffaele M. Marziale, 41, former loan officer, Bristol, Rhode Island; Lauren Sienko, 33, loan processor, Rehoboth, Massachusetts; Gina M. Ronci Mohamed, 45, licensed real estate agent, Lincoln, Rhode Island; and Edwin Rodriguez, 35, real estate investor, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, were charged in a 22-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Providence, Rhode Island with allegedly participating in a conspiracy to obtain money they were not entitled to from financial institutions and individuals through mortgage loans, residential property sales and fees. Continue Reading…
Franchesco Franco, 34, a former mortgage loan originator, Providence, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit bank fraud for his participation with a local real estate attorney and others in a scheme to defraud Flagstar Bank, by filing a fraudulent mortgage loan application and supporting documentation in the name of a person known to him who had recently died, in order to secure a loan in the amount of $157,102 for the purchase of a residence at 63 Wendell Street, Providence, Rhode Island.
According to court documents, after the mortgage was issued, Franco filed fraudulent documents in the deceased person’s name in order to have his own name added to the deed for the property. Loan payments were never made to Flagstar Bank, an FHA-insured lender, by Franco or anyone else. As a result, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) paid an insurance claim to Flagstar Bank for the unpaid balance of the loan in the amount of $165,062. According to court documents, a corporation formed by the real estate attorney, an alleged co-conspirator in this matter, later purchased the note for $35,000. Continue Reading…
Hector Hernandez, 57, Miami, Florida, the owner and operator of Great Country Mortgage Bankers (Great Country), a mortgage lender in Miami, Florida, was sentenced to serve 135 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution for orchestrating a $64 million mortgage fraud scheme. He was also ordered to pay $64,508,141 in restitution and to forfeit $8,000,000 in illicit profits.
In the same case, a real estate developer for Great Country, Aleida Fontao, 62, Miami, Florida, was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison, and ordered to pay $7,131,952 in restitution and $400,000 in forfeiture. An underwriter for Great Country, Olga Hernandez, 59, Lake Mary, Florida, was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $24,512,755 in restitution. Hector and Olga Hernandez both pleaded guilty on July 13, 2015, while Fontao pleaded guilty on July 7, 2015. Hector Hernandez was the last defendant to be sentenced in the case. All 24 defendants charged in this case, which included loan officers, loan processors and underwriters, were convicted of participating in the scheme. Continue Reading…
Randy Gard Teall, 67, Post Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Teall was indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on June 17, 2014.
According to the plea agreement, Teall admitted he was a loan officer at Global Credit Union, a federally insured financial institution in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. With the intent to defraud, Teall executed a scheme to procure loans from Global Credit Union using false promises or statements on loans he approved to individuals with whom he had a business relationship. Teall failed to disclose his personal and business relationship and the borrowers’ true financial worth. Some of Global’s loan funds were used to pay rent to Teall.
The charge of bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to five years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for December 15, 2015, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson.The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Moctezuma Tovar, 46, Sacramento, California and Sandra Hermosillo, 53, Woodland, California pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme.
According to court documents, Tovar was the founder and president of Delta Homes and Lending Inc., a Sacramento, California based real estate and mortgage lending company. Delta Homes opened one office in 2003 and eventually had five offices in Sacramento and Woodland, California. As the president of Delta Homes, Tovar managed the day-to-day operations of the company and prepared and submitted residential home loan applications on behalf of Delta Homes’ clients. Hermosillo was a loan officer at the Woodland office and was also responsible for submitting residential home loan applications on clients’ behalf. 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…
