Loan Modification

Despite 2009 restrictions, mortgage and appraisal fraud spiked

Posted on May 02, 2010
For anyone who assumed that the toughened real-estate appraisal rules imposed on the mortgage market last year would mean less monkey business in home valuations, here’s a shocker: Fraudulent appraisals soared in 2009, according to a lending-industry study released this week, and they now represent the fastest-growing form of home loan fraud...

Conspirators Sentenced to Prison in Construction Escrow Fraud Scheme

Posted on May 01, 2010
ATLANTA, GA?EDGAR J. BEAUDREAULT, JR., 61, of Alpharetta, Georgia, and HOWARD A. SPERLING, 45, of San Diego, California, were sentenced today by United States District Judge Clarence Cooper to federal prison on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their part in a scheme to defraud a California corrections facility operator of nearly $13 [...

Orlando Man Sentenced for Role in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 30, 2010
ORLANDO, FL?United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton announces that U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway today sentenced Ramon Cendana (age 48, of Orlando) [...]

Mortgage fraud incidents rise 7 pct last year

Posted on April 29, 2010
MIAMI ? Incidents of residential mortgage fraud increased last year, a sign that scammers are still targeting the industry despite more diligent efforts to find and report such activity.   The number of mortgage fraud reports among loans made in 2009 grew 7 percent, a smaller increase than the 26 percent jump seen the previous year, according [...

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Barofsky Says Criminal Charges Possible in Alleged AIG Coverup

Posted on April 28, 2010
San Fransisco -  Neil Barofsky was unpacking boxes in December 2008 when the stench of sewage wafted through the hallways at the 168-year-old Main Treasury Building. The space assigned to him as head of the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or SIGTARP, was shoehorned into the basement, three [...

Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Hosts Mortgage Fraud Summit in Detroit

Posted on April 27, 2010
Representatives of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force met in Detroit Friday, April 23, 2010, for the third of a series of Mortgage Fraud Summits. The task force, established by President Barack Obama in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, is composed of representatives [...

The tale of Goldman?s fraud charges

Posted on April 26, 2010
NEW YORK –In a 22-page complaint filed Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs with defrauding investors on real estate securities likely to go bust. The legal document reads less like a court filing, and more like a twisted story of how actions by Wall Street’s most notorious investment bank allegedly caused losses of [...

Fed team: Mortgage fraud plagues Detroit, Southeastern Michigan

Posted on April 25, 2010
Task force warns industry reps, community of scams targeting strapped homeowners Metro Detroit is a hotbed of mortgage scams with a rising number of crooks preying on homeowners desperate to avoid foreclosures, representatives of a federal Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, an ad-hoc group of law agencies, said Friday...

Two Eastern Jackson County Men Plead Guilty in $23 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 24, 2010
Involved Hundreds of Properties KANSAS CITY, MO?Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee?s Summit, Missouri man and a Grain Valley, Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court today to charges related to a $23 million mortgage fraud scheme that involved 350 residential properties, including inner-city properties...

Salt Lake City man sentenced to 56 months in mortgage fraud scheme

Posted on April 23, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY ? A Davis County man involved in a multimillion dollar mortgage fraud scheme was sentenced to less than five years Wednesday ? a reduced sentence he was granted for working with the government. Lyle Clay Smith, 44, was sentenced to 56 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release and ordered to [...

CEO of Capitol Investments USA Charged in $880 Million Ponzi Scheme Based on Phony Grocery Business

Posted on April 22, 2010
NEWARK, NJ?The former owner and chief executive officer of Capitol Investments USA, Inc., a purported wholesale grocery distribution business, was charged today in a criminal complaint with operating a $880 million Ponzi scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced...

Owner of San Diego Telemarketing Companies Sentenced in Real Estate Investment Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 21, 2010
San Diego - United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Michael Alexander, the owner of several San Diego telemarketing companies involved in a real estate investment fraud scheme, was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego to serve 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release based on his previous convictions [...

Stockton Real Estate Executive Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging at Auctions of Foreclosed Properties

Posted on April 20, 2010
SACRAMENTO, CA?United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner and Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney of the Department of Justice?s Antitrust Division announced today that Anthony B. Ghio, 43, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Edward J...

Global Stock Markets Cold Showered By Goldman Sachs Fraud

Posted on April 19, 2010
New York - The news of Goldman Sachs’ fraud accusation by SEC pored cold showers over the stock markets world wide showing the first signs of economic recovery. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has spoiled the party. While most stock exchanges had achieved new records this week, the trend has reversed Friday, April 16, when the U...

Seven men charged in alleged $40 million mortgage fraud

Posted on April 18, 2010
Minneapolis - The alleged fraud involved 134 properties, 118 of which are now in foreclosure, across several counties, according to the Hennepin County charges. Seven Twin Cities men face two racketeering charges each in an alleged $40 million mortgage fraud scheme that stretched across several counties with a focus on new developments in exurbs...

Broward Title Company Attorney-Owner, Employee, and Broker Charged in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 17, 2010
Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office; Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and J...

Bank Employees, Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Broker Indicted on Mortgage Fraud-Related Charges

Posted on April 16, 2010
Federal Agents Apprehend 18 Defendants from Throughout Bay Area SAN FRANCISCO?Today 18 individuals were apprehended on mortgage fraud-related charges, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. Over the last few months, a federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted these individuals on charges relating to alleged mortgage fraud schemes perpetrated between 2005 and 2009...

Owner of Guaranty Title Pleads Guilty to $2.7 Million Wire Fraud Conspiracy

Posted on April 15, 2010
SPRINGFIELD, MO?Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that the owner of Guaranty Title, formerly headquartered in Nixa, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a $2.7 million wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering...

Thirteen charged in Miami luxury condo mortgage fraud scheme

Posted on April 14, 2010
Federal officials have charged 13 individuals in an alleged elaborate $16.9 million mortgage fraud scheme targeting sales of luxury condominium units in downtown Miami and single-family homes in Coral Gables, according to an unsealed superseding indictment...

Former USA Capital Officer Sentenced for Fraud Conviction

Posted on April 13, 2010
LAS VEGAS?Joseph D. Milanowski, 48, former officer of the real estate development investment company USA Capital, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Roger L. Hunt to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $86.9 million in restitution to over 1,000 victims for his guilty plea to one count of wire fraud, announced [...

Three Attorneys, Two Real Estate Brokers, and Five Others Indicted in $10 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 12, 2010
Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, an indictment was unsealed charging 10 defendants, including three attorneys and two licensed real estate brokers, with conspiracy, bank fraud, and wire fraud arising out of their mortgage fraud scheme...

Home loan modification scammers are the latest scoundrels to surface

Posted on April 11, 2010
Equity skimming, illegal property flipping, foreclosure rescue scams. And now, say hello to the newcomer on the fraud block, the home loan modification scam. ?There?s no evidence that the same companies or the same people are involved,? said Deborah Bortner, director of consumer services for the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions...

Former Fee Attorney of First Southwestern Title Company and Others Indicted in Alleged Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 10, 2010
HOUSTON?Vincent Wallace Aldridge and Tori Aldridge, both of Fresno, Texas, surrendered themselves to federal authorities as a result of the return of a 19-count indictment arising from an alleged scheme to defraud residential mortgage lenders of more than $3...

Minnesota Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Federal Prison for Orchestrating $3.7 Billion Ponzi Scheme

Posted on April 09, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS?Thomas Joseph Petters, age 52, of Wayzata, Minn., has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for orchestrating a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme. The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle earlier this morning in St...

Denver Woman Indicted in Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scam

Posted on April 08, 2010
DENVER?Vicki Dillard Crowe, aka Vicki R. Dillard, age 31, of Denver, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 5, 2010 on charges of mortgage fraud, United States Attorney David Gaouette, FBI Special Agent in Charge in Denver James Davis, and U.S...

Federal Jury Convicts Eight Defendants in Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 07, 2010
Lead Defendant Eric Rulack Farrington, Jr. Convicted on All 32 Counts DALLAS?A mortgage fraud trial that began in mid-February before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay, concluded late this afternoon 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 area [...

Bethesda Mortgage Broker Indicted in Scheme to Defraud Lenders, Family, and Others of Over $2.8 Million

Posted on April 06, 2010
BALTIMORE?A federal grand jury has indicted Douglas Skibicki, age 41, of Bethesda, Maryland, 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...

Arizona criminals also to blame for housing crisis

Posted on April 05, 2010
A lot of blame for the housing crisis that helped drive our nation into a financial crisis has been heaped on “greedy” bankers and home buyers trying to live beyond their means. But there was another element that should not be forgotten - and that was outright criminal activity...

Former Kirkland, Washington attorney convicted of mortgage fraud scheme

Posted on April 04, 2010
Bothell’s Robert Ernest Brandt, 42, a former Kirkland attorney and escrow officer, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Seattle April 1 of conspiracy and four counts of wire fraud. The jury deliberated approximately one day following an eight-day trial...

Texas Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 03, 2010
Real Estate Investor Ordered to Pay Over $4.1 Million in Restitution Sherman, Texas - U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that a 38-year-old Grapevine, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas...

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