(USAO, IN) HAMMOND- United States Attorney David A. Capp announced that a federal grand jury in Hammond returned an indictment charging three individuals for their part in a house flipping scheme involving Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) properties. The indictment charges Sergio Garcia, Sr.,46, of Chicago, IL and Sergio Garcia, Jr., 27, of Lowell, IN with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and ten substantive counts of mail fraud…

(Post-Tribune News) A Lowell man and two Illinois men were indicted by a federal grand jury for a HUD house flipping scheme in several communities across Northwest Indiana and the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Sergio Garcia Sr., 46, of Chicago, and Sergio Garcia Jr., 27, of Lowell, each face one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and 10 counts of mail fraud. Lansing, Ill., resident Timothy D. Greene, 29, faces one count of submitting…

(USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that VICTOR CUEVAS, 52, of Bristol, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to conspiring with others to commit bank fraud in connection with his home mortgage loan applications. According to court documents and statements made in court, in the summer of 2013, CUEVAS, a City of…

Earlier today, David Gotterup pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud by defrauding distressed homeowners in a loan modification scheme.  When sentenced, Gotterup faces up to 30 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture, and a fine. The guilty plea was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Diego Rodriguez,…

(Source: USAO, OH) COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged Robert Porter, 52, of Westerville, Ohio with five counts of willfully filing a false income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and one count of making a false statement. Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation,…

(USAO, NJ) NEWARK, N.J. – The sole proprietor of a company that purportedly provided internet research and technology consulting services to the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation (NWCDC) today admitted that she failed to report substantial income she received from the NWCDC, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Retha Renee McCoy, 53, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose Linares in Newark federal…

(USAO, OH) Criminal charges were filed in federal court alleging cash bribes and kickbacks between contractors and a Cleveland Housing Network official, as well as improper lead abatement practices at several renovation projects, law enforcement officials said. Named in the four-count criminal information are: James Todt, 49, of Brecksville; Lizandro Orellana, 56, of Cleveland; Chris Peterson, 42, of Macedonia, and Modern Construction Group LLC…

(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, 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, 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: 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: 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: 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: wnep.com) HAZLETON -- State police, the IRS, and other federal agents raided the home of a controversial real estate agent Monday morning. Agents carried boxes out of the home of Ignacio Beato on Lincoln Street in Hazleton. They were there for about three hours. The case against Ignacio Beato is growing. What appeared to be a real estate scam in Hazleton may be much more. That's why federal agencies are now involved, with the Luzerne…

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies