SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A former executive of a Springfield, Missouri charity, who was also an Arkansas lobbyist, pleaded guilty in federal court today to bribing Arkansas elected officials in a multi-million-dollar scheme, and then along with other charity executives, embezzling millions of dollars from the Springfield health care organization. Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S.…

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…

United States Attorney John H. Durham and Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen today announced that COMMUNITY RENEWAL TEAM and its president, LENA RODRIGUEZ, have entered into a civil settlement agreement with the United States and the State of Connecticut and have paid $362,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the federal and state False Claims Acts. Community Renewal Team (“CRT”) is a Hartford-based community action agency that…

(Source:News 12 New Jersey) TRENTON, N.J. -  Three more New Jersey residents have been charged with filing fraudulent applications for Superstorm Sandy relief. The new cases were announced Friday by the state Attorney General's Office. Officials say that Fair Lawn resident Diane DiCosmo falsely claimed a home in Lavallette as a primary residence. She fraudulently collected $177,000, according to the attorney general. Matawan couple Barry…

NEWARK, N.J. – The former executive director of a Newark-based childcare and community program and a partner in a political fundraising and consulting company was sentenced today to 38 months in prison for wire fraud and tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Kiburi D. Tucker, 43, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and…

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…

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that the Attorney General’s Office and its state and federal partners have charged five new defendants with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, bringing the total number of defendants charged by the office in these cases to 109 since March 2014. “Any fraud against public assistance programs is deplorable, but these thefts were especially…

(Source: courant.com) The former executive director of the Enfield Community Development Corporation, a former quasi-public organization that controlled funding for economic development projects, has been charged with stealing $95,000 in public money from the corporation. Darrin LaMore, 47, was released on $25,000 bail Friday after his appearance before a U.S. magistrate judge in New Haven. The charge carries a maximum prison term of 10…

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza today announced that DARRIN LAMORE, 47, of Enfield, has been charged by a federal criminal complaint with stealing government funds from the Enfield Community Development Corporation. On February 16, 2018, LAMORE appeared…

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…