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Mortgage Industry Fraud
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Fraud
Stories
From
Patrick
Crowley
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Fraud
News Wire
| Last Updated |
Wednesday, March 2, 2007, |
04:49
PM |
Texas
Time |
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Crooked Lawyers
A former Kansas elected official who is in trouble along with her attorney husband for alleged mortgage fraud highlights the latest edition of Lawyers Gone Wild.
Katheryn Shields, 60, the former Jackson County executive and her husband, attorney Philip Cardarella, 59, have been indicted along with nine other people on federal charges of "conspiracy and wire fraud for their role in a scheme to engage in mortgage fraud," according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Bradley Schlozman.
"This case represents another tragic example of intelligent individuals -- including lawyers and prominent elected officials -- thumbing their noses at the law in the pursuit of quick and easy cash," said Schlozman, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District if Missouri in Kansas City.
The couple could not be reached to comment, but they have maintained their innocence in published reports.
MortgageDaily.com
subscribers read Patrick's full story
Legislator
Accused of Foreclosure Fraud
The Maryland Attorney General is looking into claims
that a state legislator duped a woman into selling
her home to him.
In a lawsuit filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit
Court, Teresa Milligan accuses Maryland State Delegate
William "Tony" McConkey, a Republican and a real
estate broker, of foreclosure rescue fraud.
McConkey has denied Milligan's claims that he somehow
tricked Milligan into singing over her house to
him.
Kevin Enright, a spokesman for Maryland Attorney
General J. Joseph Curran, confirmed to MortgageDaily.com
that the attorney general's office is "looking into
the matter."
MortgageDaily.com
subscribers read Patrick's full story
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March
2, 2007
Program
Identifies Common Fraud Techniques
Mortgage fraud, which caused over $1 billion
in losses in 2005, is most likely to happen
on an application and some of the most popular
schemes involve fraudulent flipping.
Flipping
Highly Used to Defraud
Mortgage fraud, which caused over $1 billion
in losses in 2005, is most likely to happen
on an application and some of the most popular
schemes involve fraudulent flipping.
read
story from Builder Online.
Builder
Caught Trying to Inflate Income
With a hidden camera, a loan prospect recorded
when Country Constructions owner Brett Bybee
was trying to have the prospect lie about income
to get approved for a loan even though he previously
denied to a news station having any involvement
in the loan application process.
read
story from KY3 News.
RE
Developer: Honest or Deceitful?
After nearly seven weeks of trial with more
than 80 witnesses, the future of Phillip Hill,
whose charges involve false applications for
fraudulent flipping of about 300 homes, remains
to be seen, as some argue he knew what he was
doing for profits while his attorney states
he knew no better and openly conducted business.
read
story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Judge
Offers Fraudster a Deal
A judge let Corey M. Hazel, who admitted to
bilking out-of-town mortgage lenders out of
as much as $2 million by inflating property
appraisals on loan applications and pocketing
the money, remain free until his sentencing
and gave him the chance to earn a six year prison
sentence -- rather than 23 years -- by showing
up to court the day of his sentencing.
read
story from the The Columbus Dispatch.
MO
Creates Fraud-Fighting Unit
In support of a Missouri bill that would make
mortgage fraud a specific crime -- punishable
by up to 15 years in prison, the Department
of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional
Registration has created a special task force
to educate consumers and mortgage insiders how
to recognize mortgage fraud and hold wrongdoers
accountable.
read
story from the Belleville News Democrat.
Local
Government Warns About Fraud
At a forum, the Madison County Chamber of Commerce
and the Council of Governments warned the community
about mortgage fraud and how to avoid falling
prey by doing things as simple as -- according
to former closing attorney Bobby Fisher who
himself was involved in a multimillion-dollar
mortgage fraud scam -- making sure the facts
on the transaction papers match the facts of
the documentation.
read
story from the Madison County Journal.
February
28, 2007
Tool
Combats Flipping, Foreclosure Fraud
RealCheck Database Identifies Potential Fraud
and Suspicious 'Flipping' Activity in the Atlanta
Area.
Mortgages
Pitched for Investment Scheme
Trial has begun and is expected to end in late
March for Leonard Bogdan Jr. and his ex-business
partner John Brant who are accused of carrying
out a Ponzi scheme through which Bodgan Financial
Group lured investors into putting money for
what were supposed to be secured first mortgages
-- one $40,000 property had investments from
six investors that amounted up to $300,000.
read
story from the Palm Beach Post.
Foreclosure
Growth Prompts Rental Scams
Renters, like borrowers, can fall prey to foreclosure
through fraud, as some have faced eviction because
the owner did not use the rent money to pay
the mortgage, and some have found the owners
have done away with their security deposit,
and first month's and last month's rent prior
to foreclosure.
read
story from Las Vegas Now.
Avoiding
Refinance Scams
Loan prospects should do homework prior to taking
on a mortgage and thoroughly read documents
to avoid falling victims to predatory loans,
as did a woman who holds a loan for an amount
$13,000 more than the home is worth due in part
to the broker arranging for $6,400 to be used
for payment of all sorts of fees.
read
story from Cincinnati.Com.
Mortgage
Exec Gets 2 Years
Troy S. Clements, ex-operator of American Funding,
received a 24-month sentence to prison after
admitting he took part in defrauding mortgage
lenders out of $2.3 million by arranging refinance
transactions that used false appraisals before
the original loans on properties had cleared.
read
story from the Enquirer.
Borrowers
Victimized by Forged Signatures
Four of six people, including Lesley Romero,
have been sentenced for a scam in which borrowers'
signatures were forged to quickly transfer title
of the home to the scammers who would then pocket
money from enormous mortgages placed on the
properties -- causing borrowers to eventually
face foreclosure.
read
story from The Arizona Republic.
2
Settle Deceptive Business Claims
Residential Mortgage Services of South Portland
and Salem Capital Group have agreed to refinance
more than $400,000 in mortgages and pay restitution
to settle charges by Maine regulators that Salem
operated without a mortgage lending license
and that a Residential loan officer falsely
promised borrowers they would be able to refinance
short-term cash loans that were used to qualify
borrowers for mortgages.
read
story from WCSH 6.
Slow
MBS Market Highlights Fraud
At a time when foreclosures and delinquencies
already rising, secondary market investors are
worried about how much deeper fraud is penetrated
in mortgage-backed securities, as the current
environment of stagnating prices and sales will
bring to surface fraud that's been hiding in
loans during the good times.
read
story from Bank Technology News.
Company
Probed for RE Scam
Officials are investigating Chuck Gunter and
Bruce Sarafian, who both ran Livewire Properties
Inc., after several complaints accused the company
of misusing investors' credit to obtain home
loans on overvalued properties that were supposed
to be rent-to-own properties and are now in
foreclosure.
read
story from Local 6.
LO
Indicted for FHA Fraud
Charges against James L. Boyle allege the former
loan officer at RBC Mortgage Co. and Irwin Mortgage
allege he caused numerous false verifications
of employment forms and fictitious pay stubs
to get borrowers qualified for a federally-insured
mortgage.
read
story from the Rockford Register Star.
February
27, 2007
Lawyer
Dishes on Mortgage Fraud
Attorney Andy Hodges explained that some of
his clients were duped into making investments
on mortgages in which straw buyers' information
was used to obtain loans for high-end homes
in which the value was inflated by more than
$50,000.
read
story from the Springfield Business Journal.
Ex-mortgage
Exec's Bail Request Denied
Ronald Sheppard, who led HomeGold Financial
which was involved in one of largest bankruptcies
in South Carolina, will remain in jail through
the appeal process of his sentencing earlier
this month to 20 years in prison for his role
in defrauding investors.
read
story from Fox 21.
OH
Expands Predatory Lending Focus
Following a new mortgage lending law in Ohio,
the state's attorney general's office was granted
a $500,000 request to launch a task force that
will add three attorneys and three investigators
who will solely concentrate on cracking down
unscrupulous lenders.
read
story from the Plain Dealer .
February
26, 2007
Broker
Admits Mortgage Fraud
James Sparks pleaded guilty to brokering loans
as part of a $25 million scheme in which false
information was submitted for federally-insured
mortgages on behalf of spotty-credit individuals
who were urged to do things, such as moving
in before closing, to make it harder to back
out when conspirators increased home prices
shortly before closing.
read
story from the Kansas City Business Journal
.
TX
Seeks Tougher Fraud Laws
A Texas bill aims to set specific punishments
for mortgage fraud, such as up to 20 years in
prison and fines of up to $10,000 for knowingly
making false statements.
read
story from the Express-News.
Fraudsters
Target Run-down Areas
Flipping schemes, which are done through selling
homes at an artificially-inflated value, are
most common in run-down neighborhoods and further
hurt the area's overall value and families.
read
story from the News-Sentinel.
Colo.
Bills Fight Fraud
To "put some teeth" into growth of
foreclosure filings in Colorado, a top-10 hot
spot for mortgage fraud, two bills seek for
mortgage lenders to be licensed in the state
and require them to consider the financial suitability
of borrowers before making loans.
read
story from the Rocky Mountain News.
AZ
Closer to Mortgage Fraud Law
A bill that would make mortgage fraud a felony
punishable by up to 10 years in prison passed
the Arizona Senate last week and is on its way
to the House. The legislation was inspired by
cash-back deals in which fraudsters inflate
a home's value to pocket extra proceeds from
a mortgage.
read
story from the Arizona Republic.
Man
Admits Mortgage Fraud
James Parks admitted to participating in a scheme
that targeted borrowers with credit problems
and involved inflating home prices and submitting
false financial information to get borrowers
approved for mortgages.
read
story from KQTV.
Politician's
Fraud Case Inspires Bill
Accusations of mortgage fraud against Katheryn
Shields, a mayoral candidate in Missouri, and
her husband prompted Charlie Shields, a Republican,
to file a bill that would make mortgage fraud
a crime in the state.
read
story from the Kansas City Star.
Bill
Targets Mortgage Broker Scams
As a result of mortgage scams by brokers, such
as offer an initial monthly payment that doesn't
cover the interest and placing big fees in fine
print for Spanish-speaking and other vulnerable
consumers, a bill pending in Congress would
require brokers to disclose -- in writing --
all fees and penalties associated with loans
and would hold brokers liable for borrowers'
losses and legal fees.
read
story from the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Patrick
Crowley is fraud journalist for MortgageDaily.com
and a reporter and columnist
for The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Email Patrick at: PatCrowley@FraudBlogger.com |
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