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Report Fraud, Waste and Abuse
Date Published
July 20, 2017
News Type
Press Release
Link to Original
USAO, Middle District of Florida

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 lending program overseen by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This is the third civil settlement reached in this vital area of civil affirmative enforcement.

“HUD’s reverse mortgage lending program provides critical financial assistance to elderly borrowers in our district,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “This settlement reaffirms our commitment to civil mortgage fraud enforcement.”

“Reverse mortgage” loans provide elderly homeowners with access to the equity in their homes. In general, to be eligible for a reverse mortgage, the youngest homeowner must be at least 62 years old, live in the home as a primary residence, and have sufficient equity in the property...