BOSTON – A mortgage loan officer was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with a sweeping conspiracy to defraud banks and mortgage companies by engaging in sham “short” sales of residential properties in Merrimack Valley. Vanessa Ricci, 41, of Methuen, a mortgage loan officer, was sentenced to six months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $963,730. In March 2018, Ricci pleaded...

NEWARK, N.J. – A Jackson, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his role in a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme that used phony documents and straw buyers to acquire more than $6 million in loans, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Joseph DiValli previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one...

CHICAGO (CBS) — It’s back to jail, at least for now, for a man accused of defrauding more than 100 Chicago seniors. CBS 2’s Jim Williams reports a federal judge hasn’t yet decided if Mark Diamond should be released on bond. Barbara Bailey’s mother was a victim. She says she wants the man responsible to stay in jail. “If Mr. Diamond is out, he can still go into the neighborhood or contact people to still scheme and defraud people,” says Bailey....

CHICAGO -- A man accused of scamming elderly Chicagoans out of their homes was in federal court Thursday for a bond hearing. Prosecutors want the judge to deny bond for Mark Diamond. He and an alleged accomplice, Cynthia Wallace, are charged with fraud. Prosecutors say they conned people into fake reverse mortgages, swindling $10 million. There are 120 victims, mostly black women on the South and West sides. Some have died.

NEWARK, N.J. - Five individuals were arrested this morning and charged with using phony money orders, cashier’s checks, receipts and other fabricated documents to fraudulently discharge mortgages, student loans, and other financial obligations, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Melissa Reynolds, 42, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with three counts of conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud, two counts of bank fraud,...

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...

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that URMILA SRI THAKUR, also known as Urmila Buddhu-Thakur and Indro Buddhu-Thakur, 73, of Wethersfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to four years of probation, the first four months of which THAKUR must serve in home confinement, for her role in a fraudulent debt elimination scheme. According to court documents and...

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: bgdailynews.com) The former owner of a company involved in the short sales of houses subject to foreclosure admitted in court Friday to defrauding the Federal Housing Administration. Deena Brooks pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Louisville to a count of making a false statement or report to the FHA. The case against Brooks was unsealed Friday. Brooks was the president and sole owner and operator of Kentucky Promise and also...

(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...

Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Dane Narode, Associate General Counsel for Program Enforcement for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), and Christina Scaringi, the Special Agent in Charge of HUD’s Office of the Inspector General (“HUD-OIG”), Northeast Region, announced today that the United States has settled a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against RESIDENTIAL HOME...

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”...