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Mortgage Industry
Fraud
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Fraud
News Wire
| Last Updated |
Friday, April 20, 2007, |
04:49 PM |
Texas Time |
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April 20, 2007
Broker Guilty of ID,
Mortgage Fraud
Mark D. Musselman, who ran mortgage brokerage
Phoenix Funding Inc., was found guilty of using
the identities of recently dead people and forging
appraisals, among other tactics, to obtain fraudulent
mortgages that caused Interfirst Mortgage Lenders
losses of over $1 million.
read story from the Dayton Daily News
Mortgage Borrowers
Susceptible to ID Theft
Authorities advise recent customers of an Albertson's
in Alameda, Calif., to check with their banks
to make sure they were not among the victims
of an identity theft ring that could leave some
with insufficient funds to pay their mortgage.
read story from CBS 5
April 19, 2007
Pressured Appraisals
Prompt Foreclosures
Prominent trade groups representing appraisers
agree that inflated appraisals are behind the
surge in foreclosures, but they are also calling
on federal regulators to crack down on lenders
and loan officers pressuring appraisers to raise
property values for overpriced loans to be approved.
read story from the San Jose Mercury News
Couple Accused of
ID, Mortgage Fraud
Emerick Martin and his wife, Donna Martin, face
up to seven years in prison if they are found
guilty of stealing a man's identity to obtain
over $1 million in mortgages, and get credit
cards as well as a $90,000 loan for a Mercedez-Benz.
read story from the Queens Chronicle
April 18, 2007
MA Advances in Foreclosure
"Rescue" Case
The Massachusetts attorney general obtained
a preliminary injunction against 15 individuals
and companies, including Primary Mortgage Resources,
which prevents them from engaging in further
alleged fraudulent foreclosure-rescue transactions.
read story from the Boston Globe
OR Fines 2 Mortgage
Insiders
Oregon officials issued cease and desist orders
to Local Point Financial for offering mortgages
without being licensed and to Collin Clayborn
for submitting false information on his loan
originator license application and using names
of other properly licensed originators on appraisal
requests.
read story from the Portland Business Journal
April 17, 2007
Fraud Imminent on
FHA Subprime
The Bush administration's plan to offer federally-insured
subprime loans to low- and middle-income borrowers
opens the door to fraud -- as it would do little
to assure mortgage insiders do not mislead consumers
on terms of their loans, HUD says.
read story from The Washington Post
"Bankrupt" Man Performs
Mortgage Scam
While claiming he was broke in a "no asset
case" bankruptcy filing, Randall Bert Foshie
convinced potential borrowers he had millions
to fund loans and collected over $200,000 in
"up-front" money without ever making
the loans.
read story from Sacramento Bee
Man Faces Prison for
Fraud
Ishmael Grant faces six to 10 years in prison
after being found guilty of obtaining a third
of $10 million in mortgages a fraud ring received
through stolen identities.
read story from South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Fraud Partner Receives
Tougher Sentence
After submitting phony information on mortgage
applications for properties that did not even
contain a home, Corey Nance was sentenced to
five years in prison, while his co-defendant
Robert Ellertson is serving a 33-month sentence.
read story from Salt Lake Tribune
School Sues for Mortgage
Fraud
Seton Hall Law School's Center for Social Justice
filed is suing Blu Financial Group, Inc., Urban
Upliftment, Born Asiatic and Greenfield Assets
Holdings, alleging that the companies' purchased
distressed properties and quickly sold them
at inflated prices to dupe first time borrowers.
read story from The Star-Ledger
April 16, 2007
Lawyer Admits Mortgage
Fraud
Real estate attorney Chris Olewuenyi pleaded
guilty to being involved in a scam in which
more than $6 million in mortgages was obtained
through inflated appraisals, stolen identities,
forged documents and straw buyers, among other
things.
read story from The Star-Ledger
How Elderly Can Avoid
Fraud
With senior citizens often being prey to a variety
of scams, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard
recently advised them to keep their Social Security
numbers private and never issue them out to
callers such as those identifying themselves
as jury commissioners or through e-mail.
read story from the Eastern Arizona Courier
2 Banks Fund Fraudulent
Loans
Irwin Financial Corp. will potentially take
a $4.7 million hit due to a commercial loan
in which it discovered misrepresentations about
collateral and doesn't expect repayment on --which
allegedly belongs to yacht broker Michael Vorce,
who had dozens of loans backed by high-end boats
he did not own or never existed and is believed
to be the subject of fraudulent loans at Macatawa
Bank.
read story from Grand Rapids Press
Man Admits HUD Scheme
Robert Green pleaded guilty to preparing false
tax returns to help straw buyers qualify for
home loans, for properties with inflated values,
from Citywide Mortgage Co. that were insured
by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
read story from The Times-Picayune
Couple Accused of
Rescue Scam
Mortgage broker Peter Torkild and his wife,
Julia Torkild, allegedly duped a delinquent
couple out of their home by falsely promising
that they could stay in their home after their
loan went into foreclosure and pay rent until
they could repurchase the property -- but were
instead some months later when they could not
meet the high rent payments.
read story from the Bellingham Herald
3 Get Federal Charges
Federal authorities have taken over the case
of Carmella Lessegue, Andre Lamerique and Judy
Bonas, who are accused of stealing the identity
of a former nun to get mortgages for properties
and intending to swindle her out of her own
home.
read story from the Boston Herald
Slow Laws Incite Fraud
Oceans Funding is about to close doors due to
funding loans that all went into foreclosure
and prosecutors say were obtained through forged
documents -- the company is one example of how
the failure of state and federal regulations
to keep up with the change in the mortgage industry
has incited countless opportunities for fraudulent
mortgages.
read story from the Indianapolis Star
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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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