(USAO, NJ) TRENTON, N.J. – A West New York, New Jersey, man who fraudulently obtained a federally insured mortgage for a West New York rental property today admitted intentionally failing to make loan payments while using $149,000 in rental income from the property for personal expenses, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Ruben Vargas, 65, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an information charging him with one…

(Source: USAO, MA) BOSTON – A former Amherst man was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Springfield for failing to register as a sex offender, his fifth conviction for violating his registration obligations. Jose Dones, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 30 months in prison and seven years of supervised release.  In January 2016, Dones pleaded guilty to one count of failing to register as a sex…

(Source: USAO, MD) Baltimore, Maryland – Michael Gerard Camphor, age 60, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to charges arising from the fraudulent purchase of four properties in Baltimore, using fraudulent loan documentation and straw purchasers, resulting in losses of over $736,000. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal…

(Source: USAO, MA) Disctrict of Two former employees of Roxse Homes, a subsidized housing development in Boston, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a scheme to rent apartments at the housing development to individuals who were not qualified in exchange for cash bribes. Mathis Lemons, 42, of Brockton, pleaded guilty today and Ismael Morales, 36, of Jamaica Plain, pleaded guilty on Monday, May 2, 2016 to one count…

(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHN VESCERA, 60, of Dana Point, Calif., waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to false advertising and misusing a government seal in connection with the provision of mortgage modification services. According to court documents and statements made in court,…

(Source: OAG NJ) TRENTON – Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy announced that seven additional individuals were charged criminally today with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy.  Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 57 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the seven individuals charged today. The Attorney General’s…

(Source: syracuse.com) SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A mortgage bank company owned by the chairman of the Onondaga County Legislature and a former Syracuse city auditor was a victim in a mortgage fraud scheme that stole up to $5 million, according to a federal grand jury indictment. Four New York City people were indicted this week in Buffalo on charges of using falsified documents to obtain inflated mortgages on eight homes in the Bronx from June 2008 to…

(Source: cbs7.com) MIDLAND- The former Executive Director of the Stanton Housing Authority was sentenced in federal court Thursday morning and forced to pay restitution for their role in embezzlement from the organization. Both Monica Maldonado and her husband Romero were sentenced this morning in federal court before Judge Robert Junell. Romero was first, sentenced to 5 years probation, pay $31,957.28 in restitution. Pay $100 to the crime…

(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned a superseding indictment charging BRADFORD BARNEYS, 50, of Odenton, Maryland, with conspiring with TIMOTHY W. BURKE in a long-running fraud scheme that targeted distressed homeowners throughout Connecticut.  BARNEYS is an attorney licensed to practice in Connecticut and has an…

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a 24 count indictment charging Gregory Gibbons, 50, of Thornwood, NY; Julio Rodriguez, 51, of Bronx, NY; Laurence Savedoff, 42, of New City, NY, and Tina Brown, 40, of Bronx, New York with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud affecting financial institutions, wire and mail fraud affecting financial institutions, and bank fraud. The…

(Source KAUM News) A former GHURA employee pleads guilty to bribery. Antonia Mayo San Nicolas was indicted last month along with Section 8 landlord Albert Buendicho and Section 8 recipient Mattos Johnson in a bribery scheme.   Mayo pled guilty to three counts of receiving bribes as a 3rd degree felony and a special allegation of crimes against the community. She is set for sentencing next January while her co-defendants are set for…

(Source: USAO, ME) Contact: Donald E. Clark Assistant United States Attorney Tel: (207) 780-3257 Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Timothy P. Gallagher, 46, of Jay, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to federal program fraud. According to court records, between May and November 2014, the defendant embezzled about $80,000 from Stanford Management LLC (“Stanford”), a property…

(Source: USAO, NJ) NEWARK, N.J. – A real estate developer and landlord of commercial buildings in Palisades Park, New Jersey, today admitted soliciting a $50,000 bribe payment to a Palisades Park borough official, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Chung S. Kho, 68, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of using facilities in interstate commerce to promote bribery. According to the documents…

(Source: USAO, NJ) NEWARK, N.J. – A compliance officer with the Union City Community Development Agency (UCCDA) today admitted that he manipulated the contractor selection process for federally funded residential rehabilitation and sidewalk replacement projects, causing losses of $40,000 to $95,000, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Washington Borgono, 65, of North Bergen, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H.…

(Source: arkansasonline.com) The former executive director of the Hot Springs Housing Authority was ordered in federal court to repay the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development more than $5,500 for collecting twice on travel expenses. Barbara Louise Baer also was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $500 during a brief hearing Thursday before U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey in Hot Springs. Baer pleaded guilty in May to one…

(Source: hotspringsdaily.com) Dear Editor, Friday’s Sentinel Record had an article describing the felony sentencing of the past Hot Springs Housing director Barbara Baer. Baer was sentenced to two years’ probation for embezzlement and fined puny a $500. What is missing from this article is a description of the complicity and irresponsibility of the majority of the Housing Authority board in allowing this mess to occur. In addition, to…

(Source: USAO, WA) A SeaTac man who used a second identity to defraud public assistance programs for more than 20 years was convicted late yesterday of multiple federal felonies following a three day jury trial, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  TRAVIS EDWARD FISCHER, 49, lived with his girlfriend and three children in SeaTac, while also claiming benefits under the name Edward Travis Fisher in Seattle.  By pretending to be…

(Source: USAO, MS) Hattiesburg, Miss – Kenneth Fairley, 62, of Hattiesburg, and Artie Fletcher, 55, of Picayune, have been charged in a federal indictment with a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Jerome R. McDuffie, HUD Special Agent in Charge Nadine Gurley, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in…

HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) A Hub City pastor has been indicted in federal court on charges for defrauding the U.S. government. Rev. Kenneth Fairley was served with six-count indictment. Count 1 - Conspiracy to defraud the United States. Count 2 and 3 - Theft of government money. Count 4 - Conspiracy to commit money laundering. Count 5 and 6 - Engaging in monetary transactions. Fairley, pastor of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, appeared before…

(Source: USAo, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ARIA MALEKI, 33, of Santa Ana, Calif., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to conspiring to defraud homeowners across the United States who were seeking mortgage loan modifications. According to court documents and statements made in court, MALEKI and others jointly operated a series of…