Commercial Appraiser and Real Estate Consultant, Los Angeles, CA

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “This indictment alleges that Southern Lenders, a broker of residential loans, was fraudulently dealing with its own lender, nBank. We and the FBI, and the Office of Inspector General for the FDIC will thoroughly and vigorously investigate fraud against our federally insured banking system.”

According to United States Attorney Nahmias, the charges and other information presented in court: Between 1999 and 2006, White, acting as a principal of Southern Lenders, allegedly secured funding on multiple loans through a specific broker line of credit with …

Read More... ]]> 2006-10-16T12:38:36Z - http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/california_couple_arrested_in_elder_abuse_involving_real_estate_fraud/ Homes Allegedly Stolen from Elderly Woman Mortgage Fraud, California - - Charlene Padilla Humphrey, 51, Twentynine Palms, California, and her husband, Mark Terrence Humphrey, 46, Twentynine Palms, California, were arrested in connection with Grand Theft and Elder Abuse of Garneth Sylvia, 92.

An investigation by the San Bernardino County Real Estate Fraud Unit determined that Charlene Humphrey gained the confidence and trust of the elderly victim and convinced her to move to California from Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

The Humphreys convinced the victim to purchase two homes in Twentynine Palms, California and then pressured the victim into signing over title of the properties to the Humphreys. The Humphreys then took out a loan on one home in the 5400 Block of Morongo Road, which the victim …

Read More... ]]> 2006-10-16T11:30:17Z - http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/indianapolis_broker_sentenced_in_mortgage_fraud_scheme/ Mortgage Fraud, Indiana - - Doris W. Jones, 56, the owner Quantum Investments, a mortgage brokerage in Indianapolis, Indiana was sentenced to 21 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of $206,500 in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme.  Jones pled guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to authorities, Jones brokered over 20 mortgages between June 2001 to July 2003 that involved inflated appraisals, falsified down payments and false invoices.  The scheme resulted in lender losses of approximately $684,000.

Jones cooperated with authorities in the prosecution of Michael C. Smith, the appraiser that provided the inflated appraisals Smith waswas also an Indianapolis Police officer.  Smith was convicted by a jury of money …

Read More... ]]> 2006-10-09T18:09:03Z - http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/california_identity_thieves_arrested1/ Mortgage Fraud, California - - Six indictments were returned in California as part of Operation Broken Trust, an investigation by the United States Secret Service into identity theft in the mortgage industry. The investigation focused on a ring that assumed victims’ identities by accessing their credit reports. Armed with the new identities, the defendants manipulated credit reports to obtain money, to refinance homes, and to purchase high-end merchandise and drugs.

Mortgage broker John James Sena, 38, Huntington Beach, California, a mortgage broker, was charged with selling credit profiles and account information belonging to people who had applied for mortgages. Sena faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for offering to sell a credit card account number, plus a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years …

Read More... ]]> 2006-10-09T15:16:50Z - http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/new_york_court_hands_down_four_year_sentence_for_mortgage_fraud_scheme/ Mortgage Fraud, New York - - Theodore Antonucci, Jr. was sentenced to four years in prison followed by three years supervised release and was ordered to pay $931,558 in restitution in connection with his conviction for participation in a flipping scheme.  Antonucci was chargedcharged by information and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that operated from August 1, 2000 to October 5, 2000 in New York. 

According to the information, Antonucci conspired with Maggio and others to defraud The Provident Bank.  The plea agreement further states that Antonucci sold property located at 318-320 Brooks Avenue, Rochester, New York to Maggio and assisted Maggio in obtaining a $63,000 …

Read More... ]]> 2006-10-09T14:46:13Z - http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/ten_year_sentence_in_california_flipping_scheme/ Mortgage Fraud, California - - The former owner of several Anaheim Hills-based real estate companies was found guilty this morning of federal charges related to an illegal property-flipping and loan fraud scheme in which he and others submitted fraudulent mortgage applications that led to the issuance of more than $6 million in fraudulent loans.

James Davis Bennett, 53, Rancho Santa Fe, California, was sentenced to 121 months in prison and ordered to pay $751,050 in restitution and $12,500 in fines.  In January, he was convicted by a jury of of 11 counts including operating a continuing financial crimes enterprise, four counts of wire fraud and six counts of bank fraud.

The evidence presented at trial showed that Bennett purchased multiple-unit properties in distressed areas of …

Read More... ]]> 2006-10-09T14:32:16Z