TOLEDO - A Perrysburg man was among two people indicted last week in federal court for allegedly stealing $1 million from hundreds of people as part of a loan-modification fraud scheme.

Christopher J. Howder, 37, Perrysburg, and Jason J. Keating, 36, Toledo, were both indicted for wire fraud in the alleged scheme, according to a press release issued by the Northern District of Ohio.
Howder and Keating worked at Making Home Affordable USA in Toledo, where Keating was the self-described president and Howder was the self-described underwriting manager.

The company used various names but homeowners were told MHAUSA had a very high rate of success and that customers could achieve modified interest rates as low as 2 percent, according to the indictment.

Prospective participants were allegedly told there was a flat fee for service, generally between $495 and $795.

Participants were told to stop making monthly mortgage payments to their lenders and instead to pay a percentage of their mortgage to MHAUSA.

Participants were also reportedly told MHAUSA would hold these payments in a "stimulus reserve" account to demonstrate the participants could reliably make payments, and that once the loans were modified, the money would be turned over to the lenders...