The Justice Department announced today that Deloitte & Touche LLP has agreed to pay the United States $149.5 million to resolve potential False Claims Act liability arising from Deloitte’s role as the independent outside auditor of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), a failed originator of mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). “With taxpayer...

Lonnie Brantley Jr. avoided prison by striking a plea deal for lying to federal housing regulators during an investigation into his troubled mortgage lending business. But almost three years after his 2015 conviction, Brantley is facing the prospect of being locked up. That’s because he has repeatedly dodged his $3.3 million restitution obligation, prosecutors say, while living in a 5,300-square-foot Southlake home, driving luxury vehicles and...

NEWARK N.J. – A Nutley, New Jersey, man was charged today with using fraudulent documents to deceive his employer into approving a loan, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Richard Patino, 42, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court and was released on bail. According to the complaint: Patino was a loan officer with a mortgage...

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Dirk Hall was sentenced by United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano to 41 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, after having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud in connection with a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentencing...

BOSTON – A Methuen real estate broker pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with a sweeping conspiracy to defraud banks and mortgage companies by engaging in sham “short” sales of residential properties in Merrimack Valley. Greisy Jimenez, 50, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf scheduled sentencing for April 24, 2018.  In March 2017, co...

John H. Durham. United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DARRYLL HARMON, 44, of Stratford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to one count of bankruptcy fraud. According to court documents and statements made in court, HARMON was in default on his HUD-insured mortgage, which was held by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (“CHFA...

CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago has charged two suburban mortgage brokers with fraudulently operating a purportedly independent appraisal management company to control property valuations, and brokering fraudulent loans to finance real estate transactions between themselves and nominees. STEVEN L. GARCIA and his brother, MICHAEL R. GARCIA, operated American Financial Mortgage Services Inc., a licensed mortgage brokerage in...

NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Distribution November 29, 2017 LOS ANGELES – A longtime fugitive was named today in a nine-count indictment that alleges he participated in a $9 million loan fraud scheme that targeted Wells Fargo Bank. Napoleon Olarte, 40, who is believed to be in Venezuela after fleeing the United States approximately eight years ago, was indicted late this afternoon by a federal grand jury. The indictment alleges that...

(Source: longisland.com) Brooklyn, NY - November 27, 2017 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that Brooklyn real estate developer Daniel Melamed pleaded guilty today in Kings County Supreme Court to a 13-count indictment, including Residential Mortgage Fraud in the Second Degree and two counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, class C felonies; as well as four counts of Forgery in the Second Degree, four counts of Criminal...

A former Hubbard attorney who gave up his law practice as he was about to disciplined now faces federal charges. Federal authorities have issued a bill of information charging Richard James Lacivita with bank fraud and making a false statement on on a loan. In most cases, prosecutors issue a bill of information instead of an indictment when the defendant intends to plead guilty to the charge or charges. Lacivita, who now lives in Canfield,...

(Source: ocregister.com) SANTA ANA — A Coto De Caza man who in YouTube videos promised to help homeowners save their homes from foreclosure was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison after bilking more than 500 people out of $2.2 million. Kevin Frank Rasher, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to a dozen counts of mail fraud, was sentenced to 97 months behind bars and ordered to pay about $2.24 million in restitution for the money he stole...

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that URMILA SRI THAKUR, also known as Urmila Buddhu-Thakur and Indro Buddhu-Thakur, 72, of Wethersfield, pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to a money laundering offense stemming from a fraudulent debt elimination scheme. According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2009 to June 2012, THAKUR, her former husband, Deowraj “Deo”...

Memphis, TN – A Memphis real estate investor has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain mortgage loans. Lawrence J. Laurenzi, Acting U.S. Attorney, announced the sentence today. An indictment returned last September by a federal grand jury alleged Thomas L. Boyd, 44, the owner of Wonderful Properties, LLC, made false statements and presented false documents to Regions Bank, First Tennesse...

(Source: skyvalleychronicle.com) (SEATTLE, WA.) -- The owner of a now defunct Tukwila, WA based real estate escrow firm was indicted last month by a federal grand jury on ten counts of bank fraud, and one count each of mail and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes in Seattle Friday. Lori Lynn Andrew, 48, now of Cashmere, Washington near Wenatchee, the owner of Hartman Escrow, Inc., was arrested and arraigned on the indictment...

CITYSIDE MANAGEMENT CORPORATION PAYS $4.3 MILLION TO RESOLVE FALSE CLAIMS ACT ALLEGATIONS Office of the United States Attorney Eastern District of California U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, July 26, 2017 www.justice.gov/edca CONTACT: LAUREN HORWOOD PHONE: 916-554-2706 [email protected] CITYSIDE MANAGEMENT CORPORATION PAYS $4.3 MILLION TO RESOLVE FALSE CLAIMS ACT ALLEGATIONS FRESNO, Calif. —...

Tampa, FL – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces a civil settlement with Alexander Olympus Zarris that resolves alleged violations of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) through reverse mortgage transactions engineered by Zarris at a Tarpon Springs condominium complex. Zarris will pay $475,000 to address the damage his conduct caused to a...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three California residents were sentenced today to a combined 39 years in prison for their roles in a nationwide, multi-year “home mortgage modification” fraud that scammed thousands of vulnerable victims out of at least $11 million.  Sammy Araya, 41, of Santa Ana, was sentenced to 20 years, Michael Henderson, 49, of Costa Mesa, was sentenced to 12 years, and Jen Seko, 36, of Anaheim, was sentenced to 7 years in prison,...

CHICAGO — A Chicago businessman has been arraigned on federal fraud charges for his alleged role in a scheme to bilk elderly homeowners out of millions of dollars. MARK STEVEN DIAMOND, a mortgage loan originator with offices in Chicago and Calumet City, engaged in a home repair and loan fraud scheme that targeted elderly homeowners and lenders, according to the indictment. Diamond fraudulently caused lenders to make reverse-mortgage loans to...

(Source: beverlyreview.net) One of four men found guilty of illegally taking over several vacant homes in Beverly/Morgan Park two years ago, a practice commonly known as squatting, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. David Farr, also known as Fahim Ali, was admitted into the Northern Reception and Classification Center in Joliet on May 24, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). His projected parole date and discharge...

SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man pleaded guilty this morning to federal charges relating to his operation of a fraud scheme that took $2.2 million from distressed homeowners through false promises that he could help them avoid foreclosure by obtaining modifications to their mortgages. Kevin Frank Rasher, 45, who has been in custody since his arrest at his Coto de Caza residence one year ago, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of mail fraud...