KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Kansas City, Mo., woman was convicted by a federal jury today of engaging in a fraud scheme in which she stole $440,000 in lottery winnings from her victim as part of a scheme that resulted in a total loss of more than $640,000. Freya Pearson, 43, of Georgia, formerly of Kansas City, was found guilty of all nine counts…

(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that KOWIT YUKTANON, also known as “Eric Cannon” and “Aaron Brock,” 32, of Huntington Beach, Calif., and CUONG HUY KING, also known as “James Nolan” and “Jimmy, 32, of Westminster, Calif., have each been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised…

(Source: beverlyreview.net) A third of four men charged last year with squatting in several Beverly/Morgan Park homes has been found guilty. Torrez Moore, 57, was convicted on Oct. 21 of Class X theft, Class X financial institution fraud and continuing a financial crimes enterprise following a three-day trial at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building, 2600 S. California Ave. Moore, along with David Farr, was charged in July 2015; that December,…

(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that VICTOR CUEVAS, 52, of Bristol, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to one year of probation and a $1,000 fine for 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,…

BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a $1,025,000 civil settlement with First American Mortgage Trust, d/b/a NXTLoan.com, a small mortgage lender based in Brighton, Mass., and its founder and CEO, Barry S. Polack, in connection with allegations that they submitted false insurance claims on mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The settlement resolves…

(Source: arkansasonline.com) Lionell S. Moss, the executive director of the Helena Housing Authority, was arrested Friday on federal charges accusing him of illegally receiving $57,907 by submitting false reimbursement requests and using an agency credit card for personal expenses. Moss, 58, appeared briefly late Friday afternoon in the Little Rock courtroom of U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe and pleaded innocent to three charges -- two…

(Source: USAO, NY) BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Alagi Samba, 46, of Bronx, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, before U.S. District Judge Laurence J. Vilardo. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen A. Lynch and Elizabeth Moellering, who are handling the case, stated that…

(Source: nj.com) A former West New York commissioner will spend about a year on house arrest for collecting nearly $150,000 in rental income while being in default of a federal mortgage loan. Ruben Vargas pleaded guilty to equity skimming in May after obtaining a $417,449 loan through the Department of Housing and Urban Development to buy a two-family home at 5512 Grant Place. Vargas collected about $3,000 each month in rental income from the…

(USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHN VESCERA, 60, of Dana Point, Calif., was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for false advertising and misusing a government seal in connection with the provision of mortgage modification services. According to court…

(USAO ,NY) Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), announced today the filing of criminal charges against six defendants for participating in long-running schemes to hide substantial assets and income obtained from significant business and real estate interests in order to attain government benefits designed for…

(Source: dnainfo.com) WILLIAMSBURG — Three Brooklyn couples, including a landlord with properties all over the borough, were arrested Tuesday on charges of defrauding the government of $1.3 million worth of benefits. Shlomo Kubitshuk, 38, and his wife Rachel, 39, Naftali, 40, and Hinda Englander, 41, and Leib, 39, and Devorah Teitelbaum, 36, were accused of lying about their income to the federal government as far back as 2001 in order to…

(Source: USAO, TN) Memphis, TN – A real estate investor has been charged in a 14-count indictment that alleges he defrauded three banks and a mortgage lending business. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the indictment today. According to the indictment, Thomas L. Boyd, 43, of Memphis, Tennessee, owned a real estate agency, Wonderful Properties, LLC. Between April 2006 and September 2014, Boyd…

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHN SANDELLA, 54, of Orange, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to receiving unlawful compensation while serving as an employee of the West Haven Housing Authority. According to court documents and statements made in court, SANDELLA was employed as the Clerk of the Works for the West Haven Housing Authority (“…

Regions Bank (Regions) has agreed to pay $52.4 million to the United States to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements, the Department of Justice announced today.  Regions is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.…

(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MEHDI MOAREFIAN, also known as “Michael Miller,” 37, of Irvine, California, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 52 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in an extensive mortgage loan modification scheme.  MOAREFIAN also was ordered to pay…

(Source: Capital Gazette) A federal audit has found that due to poor record-keeping and improper spending, the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis didn't always appropriately spend more than $400,000 in grants designed to help its residents improve their lives. The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found the housing authority did not maintain documents to support the expenses of $401,859…

(Source: USAO CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that two California residents involved in an extensive mortgage loan modification scheme were sentenced today in Bridgeport federal court.  U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill sentenced SERJ GEUTSSOYAN, also known as “Anthony Kirk,” 34, of Santa Ana, to 52 months of imprisonment, and DANIEL SHIAU, also known as “Scott Decker,” 30, of…

(Source: USAO, VBA) ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five California men have been sentenced for their roles in a nationwide home loan modification scam that victimized over 400 homeowners and families, resulting in a total loss of over $3.8 million. Roscoe Umali, 38, of Santa Ana, California, was sentenced on August 18 to 220 months in prison for leading the multi-state conspiracy.  Umali was also ordered to forfeit $3.8 million and to make…

(USAO, MA) BOSTON – A real estate developer and a former City of Worcester housing official were charged in U.S. District Court in Worcester this week in connection with a $2.3 million fraud scheme relating to the redevelopment of a multi-family property in Worcester. James E. Levin, 57, of Natick, a real estate developer and attorney, and Jacklyn M. Sutcivni, 43, of Dracut, a former employee of the City of Worcester’s Housing Development…

BOSTON – The president and founder of a former Falmouth mortgage company has been charged with defrauding the Government National Mortgage Association out of nearly $3 million. Robert Pena, 67, was charged Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston. Pena, the president and founder of the now-defunct mortgage company, Mortgage Security, Inc. (MSI), was indicted on conspiracy and wire fraud charges. He was arrested today and will appear in before…