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Fraud
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Patrick
Crowley
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Fraud
News Wire
| Last Updated |
Thursday, April 12, 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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April 12, 2007
IN
Nears Permanent Protection Unit
Attorney General Steve Carter says consumers
benefit from the unit’s focus on mortgage
fraud.
IN
Suing Broker, Closer for Fraud
Rokita takes action against alleged fraudulent
investment practices for real estate totaling
more than $1.4 million.
Subprime Underwriting
Incited Fraud
A scheme in which now-imprisoned Brent Barber
bilked lenders out of more than $11 million
through 300 fraudulent mortgages is one example
of how lax underwriting by subprime lenders
invited outright fraud and is now having repercussions
of numerous defaults and foreclosures.
read story from Reuters
Mortgages Increasingly
Tied to Terrorism
In addition to mortgage fraud growing throughout
the nation, authorities say the crime is regularly
showing up in terrorism investigations.
read story from FrontPageMagazine.com
Ex-VP Embezzles for
Mortgage
Edward G. Mawhinney, a former vice president
of National Penn Bancshares Inc., received a
45-month prison sentence after admitting to
embezzling $6.1 million to buy a car and pay
off a mortgage.
read story from the PhillyBurbs
Women Accused of ID,
Mortgage Scam
Fanny Velasquez and her daughter Paola Garzon
were arrested on charges of stealing a woman's
identity to buy a home.
read story from the San Bernardino County Sun
MA Sues Mortgage Co.s
Amongst those Massachusetts is accusing of foreclosure
rescue scams and inflating home values for mortgages
worth more than the properties are Primary Mortgage
Resource, Universal Plus Realty & Financial
Services and Home Pride Management.
read story from the Boston Herald
IN Focuses on Multiples
in Fraud
Rather than focusing on the masterminds of mortgage
fraud, Indiana's secretary of state has taken
the approach of going after multiple players
-- with one recent complaint holding a loan
broker and title agent accountable for fraudulent
loans.
read story from the Indianapolis Star
Home Improvement Scam
Targets Elderly
Jerry Ponsky is accused of defrauding elderly
borrowers who responded to home-improvement
ads and were put into unaffordable mortgages
based on inflated property appraisals.
read story from The Plain Dealer
Straw Borrower Recruiters
Convicted
David Thomas and Dean Thomas were convicted
for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme,
led by Phillip Hill, by recruiting straw buyers
to purchase homes with inflated home values.
read story from The Daily News
Mortgage Fraud has
Ripple Effect
The mortgage fraud scheme masterminded by Phillip
Hill not only defrauded lenders out of millions,
it also hurt the value of several Atlanta neighborhoods
that contained homes that were foreclosed on
due to the scam.
read story from Bits of News
E-mails Used in Borrower
ID Theft
E-mails claiming to be from mortgage companies
that ask for updates of borrowers' personal
information and disposed documents are some
of the methods used by crooks who steal identities.
read story from the La Canada Valley Sun
Builder, Mortgage
Insiders in Fraud Probe
An investigation by authorities involves Mark
Strodtman and his associates from JS Real Estate
LLC for allegedly conning borrowers into buying
homes out of their price range and Charles Brandt
and Jessica Feliciano from JC Distinguished
Finance for allegedly falsifying documentation
to approve mortgages.
read story from the Greeley Tribune
Alleged Mortgage Fraudster
at Large
Authorities are looking for Darin DeVoe who
is accused of obtaining money from investors
for his personal use through his mortgage company,
which promised to manage investment properties
but stopped making payments on investors' mortgages.
read story from The Tribune
DA Discusses Mortgage
Fraud
The growth of mortgage fraud will be one of
the topics DeKalb County District Attorney Gwen
Keyes Fleming will address Tuesday at a Brookhaven
Home Owners and Neighborhood Business Alliance
lunch.
read story from Atlanta Journal-Constitution
April 10, 2007
Mortgage Fraud Shouldn't
Come as a Shock
An article implies that the mortgage and real
estate industry set itself up for the current
wave of foreclosures and mortgage fraud through
playing up homeownership as an investment, which
generated more demand for loans that got worse
as the industry struggled to put borrowers in
homes they could not afford.
read story from the Motley Fool
WA Law Fights Fraud
Substitute Senate Bill 5826, awaiting signature
by the Washington governor, intends to fight
identity theft by allowing consumers to freeze
unauthorized access to their credit reports
while easing the process for them to unfreeze
it for the purpose of obtaining a mortgage.
read story from the Insurance Journal
Credit Card Scheme
for Mortgages
Authorities fear that mortgage prospects who
want to improve their credit score to qualify
for a mortgage will turn to companies that claim
to improve their scores by adding the prospects'
files to the credit card accounts of people
with good payment histories.
read story from the Los Angeles Times
Family Alleges Home
Improvement Scam
A family faces foreclosure on their home of
40 years due to allegedly being victims of John
Evans, a contractor who offered to help fix
their burnt home but tricked them into a second
mortgage and never completed the work.
read story from NorthJersey
Ex-Builder Admits
Fraud
John E. Barrington, who changed his name to
hide previous mortgage fraud and other convictions
when launching Barrington Homes Inc., admitted
to charges involving fraudulent loan closings
for homes that were never built.
read story from the Orlando Sentinel
IN Scrutinizing Fraud
With the wave of mortgage fraud cases throughout
Indiana, the attorney general has brought disciplinary
complaints against 170 appraisers while 640
investigations of real estate brokers and salespeople
have been initiated.
read story from the Indianapolis Star
22 Collaborated with
Cox
The massive mortgage fraud schemes of Matthew
B. Cox, who is to plead guilty after being on
the run for several years, allegedly involved
at least 22 co-conspirators.
read story from the St. Petersburg Times
FHA Loan Fraud on
the Rise
A lack of oversight and aggressive enforcement
are contributing to the growth of fraud and
abusive lending practices on mortgages insured
by the Federal Housing Administration.
read story from MSNBC
Ex-Fugitive Admits
Mortgage Fraud
Matthew Bevan Cox, who was on the run for three
years, pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges
related to schemes in which obtained multiple
loans on the same properties through fraudulently
erasing prior mortgage liens and assuming the
identity of the owners.
read story from MSN Money
April 9, 2007
Economist: Beware
of Mortgage Scam
A chief economist for real estate at Texas A&M
University warned of a loan scam in which troubled
borrowers sign the deed to their home under
the promise that they can remain in the home
while paying rent -- but instead the fraudulent
lender sells the home and borrowers are left
roofless.
read story from the San Antonio Express-News
Woman Escapes Prison
Sentence
Angela Burtnett's 10-year sentence was suspended
after pleading guilty to theft involving loan
fraud schemes and she will instead serve a probation
sentence while repaying victims.
read story from the Iowa City Press-Citizen
Woman Admits Fraud
Bemilda Asuncion "Linda" Ruiz faces
four years in prison after pleading guilty to
identity theft of immigrants who she promised
to help get "green" cards for and
tricked some of them into taking out mortgages
to pay her.
read story from the North County Times
Mortgage Co. Linked
to ID Theft
Officials are looking for Eric Scott and Angela
Samuels who allegedly made credit card purchases
through a man's stolen identity -- and the ID
theft is suspected to be linked to a relocation
mortgage company.
read story from NJ.com
Avoiding Mortgage
Scams
With many borrowers falling into foreclosure
last year, a consumer advocacy official suggests
contacting a trusted lawyer prior to signing
any documents related to the sale of a home,
including when signing over a deed -- which
victims have mistakenly believed would free
them of mortgage liability as well.
read story from the Denver Post
April 6, 2007
Experts
Broadcast Latest Mortgage Scams
Mortgage Fraud Radio Series panel will include
Ann Fulmer
6 Convicted of Mortgage
Fraud
Six people, including Brandon L. Baum, each
face up to 20 years in prison after being found
guilty of defrauding various mortgage lenders
through false loan applications in which home
sales prices were inflated to profit from the
extra loan proceeds.
read story from The Edmond Sun
Tips to Avoid Fraudulent
Mortgages
Paying large fees in advance for home buying
seminars and signing documents without having
clear knowledge of what they consist of are
some of the ways people fall victims to mortgage
scams, which typically target those with overextended
or bad credit.
read story from Best Syndication
Couple Sentenced for
HUD Fraud
Former mortgage broker Jay Snyder and her boyfriend,
handyman and electrician Mark Wilkins were sentenced
for collaborating in an illegal "double
HUD" technique in buying houses to fix
that involved inflated sales figures to obtain
mortgages worth more than the homes.
read story from The Chattanoogan
Ex-CEO Sentenced for
Fraud
Former DreamLife Financial chief executive and
mortgage broker, Tony Daniloo, was sentenced
to nearly 8 years in prison for defrauding lenders
and elderly consumers out of more than $4.5
million for his personal expenses.
read story from the San Francisco Gate |
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Patrick
Crowley is fraud journalist for MortgageDaily.com
and a reporter and columnist
for The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Email Patrick at: PatCrowl
ey@FraudBlogger.com |
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