Defendant Admitted His Role in a Scheme to Fraudulently Originate More Than $55 Million in Residential Mortgages Using Fake Documents to Fraudulently Boost Loan Applicant IncomeSAN FRANCISCO – Tjoman Buditaslim pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco yesterday to wire fraud conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey; Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Western Region…

FRESNO, Calif. — German Antonio Lopez-Velasquez, 55, of Modesto, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.According to court documents, German Antonio Lopez-Velasquez, a real estate agent, worked with Lisa Santos, 48, of Long Beach, a mortgage loan officer, and Marko Antonio Lopez, 27, of Modesto, a real estate agent and notary public, to obtain fraudulent mortgage loans for properties…

Defendant Admitted He Lied on Government Forms and Wrongfully Claimed Eligibility for Housing Assistance for More Than a DecadeSAN FRANCISCO – Gregory Finkelson, a San Francisco resident, has pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property in connection with his fraudulent receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars in low-income housing benefits, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey; Federal Bureau of Investigation (…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Robert Kirby Wells, 64, of Woodland, was sentenced today to two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.According to court documents, Wells served as an insurance broker for a company located in Denver, Colorado, that owned multifamily and commercial properties throughout the United States. Wells was responsible for obtaining several types of insurance coverage for the…

LOS ANGELES – United States Attorney Bill Essayli today announced the formation of the Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force, which will investigate fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption involving funds allocated toward the eradication of homelessness within the seven-county jurisdiction of the Central District of California.This task force will be comprised of federal prosecutors from the Major Frauds Section, the Public Corruption and…

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago businessman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for willfully evading more than $3.7 million in federal and state income taxes.ABRAHAM KISWANI 54, of Burbank, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to a federal tax evasion charge.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah on Thursday fined Kiswani $10,000.Kiswani served as the president of World Security Bureau, a Chicago-area…

CHICAGO — A former board member of the failed Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for conspiring to falsify bank records to deceive the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and for filing false tax returns.WILLIAM M. MAHON, 57, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and tax charges.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall ordered…

CHICAGO — A former employee of the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for using “straw buyers” to fraudulently purchase and resell properties from the agency on his behalf.MUSTAFAA SALEH, 37, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a wire fraud charge.  U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood imposed the year-and-a-day prison sentence during a hearing Friday in federal court in Chicago…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Robert Kirby Wells, 64, of Woodland, pleaded guilty today to one count of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.According to court documents, Wells served as an insurance broker for a company located in Denver, Colorado, that owned multifamily and commercial properties throughout the United States. Wells was responsible for obtaining several types of insurance coverage for the company’s…

CHICAGO — A man has been convicted in federal court of obtaining money by threat from a strip club in a Chicago suburb.ROMMELL KELLOGG, 71, of Harvey, Ill., was convicted Monday on all five counts against him, including conspiracy to commit theft and intimidation and causing the use of facilities in interstate commerce to promote theft and intimidation.  The jury returned its verdicts after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in…

Tjoman Buditaslim, Travis Holasek, Jose Alfonso Tellez, and Jose De Jesus Martinez are Alleged to Have Prepared and Submitted Fraudulent Loan Applications Resulting in More than $55 Million in Residential MortgagesSAN FRANCISCO - A federal grand jury has indicted Tjoman Buditaslim (a/k/a “Joe Lim”), Travis Holasek, Jose Alfonso Tellez, and Jose De Jesus Martinez, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in…