(Source: mortgagefraudblog.com) Christopher Nelson, 46, Henderson, Nevada, and Niket Kulkarni, 38, Los Angeles, California were indicted by the Clark County, Nevada, Grand Jury, along with Thomas J. Adams,  Robyn D. Reese, and James Sheridan Reese, in connection with a short sale rescue fraud scheme. The charges include racketeering, pattern of mortgage lending fraud, theft, theft from a person over the age of 60, and failure to place a mortgage fee of over $1,000 in escrow. The defendants operated their business, the American Equity Foundation, between July 2012 and May 2013.

According to the indictment, the defendants are accused of soliciting customers to participate in a short sale program purportedly associated with the federal government called the Neighborhood Stabilization Plan. Defendants falsely represented to their clients that their business could facilitate the short sales of customers’ homes to investors. Clients were also told that they could then lease their homes from the investors for two to four years, before having the opportunity to repurchase those homes at a cost of 90-100% of the home’s market value. Through these representations, the defendants are...