Fraud Stories From Patrick Crowley

Fraud News Wire

Last Updated

Thursday, October 19, 2006,

04:49 PM

Texas Time

10 Years for Broker

CA $6 million mortgage fraud scheme will cost a southern California mortgage broker more than 10 years in prison.

James Davis Bennett, 52, was sentenced by a federal judge in Los Angeles to 121 months in prison and ordered to pay $715,050 in restitution and $12,500 in fines, according to a statement for the U.S. Attorney's office for the Central District of California.

Bennett operated mortgage, realty and appraisal businesses. After a 14 day trial in January he was convicted of operating a financial crimes enterprise, four counts of wire fraud and six counts of bank fraud.

A jury found him guilty after deliberating for just one day, according to prosecutors.

MortgageDaily.com subscribers read Patrick's full story


Countrywide Stung by Massive Fraud

Countrywide Home Loans appears to have been victimized in a mortgage fraud case that could involve as much as $40 million.

Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide, the nation's largest residential mortgage lender, has filed suit in Marion County, Indiana, trying to recover millions in allegedly fraudulent loans made to unsuspecting buyers in Virginia and North Carolina, according to a copy of the complaint provided by the company.

The loans totaled more than $15 million, court documents indicate -- but published reports have put the figure at as much as $40 million or higher.

The alleged perpetrators used a scheme to entice borrowers to join an "investment opportunity" or "investment club" that, according to a lawsuit, were nothing more than the fronts a complex property flipping and mortgage fraud ring.

MortgageDaily.com subscribers read Patrick's full story

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