PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A 14-count federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Providence charges two individuals, Hasan Hussain, 55, of Princeton, N.J., and Ricardo Abreu, 50, of Cranston, R.I., with allegedly participating in a conspiracy to defraud financial institutions, investors and financially distressed homeowners of at least 14 properties in Providence, Pawtucket and Cranston of fees, rental income, mortgage payment funds, property…

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TIMOTHY W. BURKE, also known as “Bill Burke,” “William Burke,” “Kerry Saunders,” “Pat Riley,” “Jim Caldwell,” “Jim Saunders,” “Tom Morrisey,” “Jimmy,” “Phil Burke,” “Phil,” “Burt,” “James Burke,” and “M. Soler,” 65, formerly of Easton, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to fraud and tax evasion offenses stemming from…

United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced an indictment charging KYLE LEWIS KIRSCHMAN, 52, and HOLLY KAY BLOOM, 37, with conspiring to commit public assistance fraud.  The indictment was filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on December 21, 2016. According to the indictment, KIRSCHMAN owned a house in Mankato, Minn. The house was divided into two apartments. KIRSCHMAN occupied apartment 1. On June 13, 2006, KIRSCHMAN and BLOOM…

(Source: KEYC 12 News) MANKATO, Minn. - Two Mankato residents are each facing a federal charge for conspiracy to commit public assistance fraud. The charges were filed in December by U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger against 52-year-old Kyle Kirschman and 37-year-old Holly Bloom. It was the result of an investigation between the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office Fraud Investigator and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Kirschman…

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – James Bayfield, a self-described mortgage specialist, was convicted late yesterday by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all four counts charging bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud for his role in defrauding mortgage lending institutions and large financial institutions, including Amtrust Bank (Amtrust), Bank of America N.A. (BOA) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (Chase), in a multi-million-dollar mortgage…

PLANO, Texas – A 64-year-old Grand Prairie, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud and perjury in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today. Melvin Ray Layman pleaded guilty on July 20, 2016, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy t commit perjury and was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison on Jan. 11, 2017 by U.S. District Judge…

(Source: cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland-area contractor who paid his employees criminally low wages while working on projects for the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in federal prison. Marcus Butler, who operated of L & B Electric of Northeast Ohio, lied on forms between 2011 and 2013 and said he paid his employees $126,514.80 more than he actually had when doing subcontracting work…

ORANGE -- FBI agents raided Orange City Hall on Wednesday morning and the building was shut down as the investigation into alleged fraud and money laundering continues to unfold. A sign on the front door said the building would be closed temporarily "due to unforeseen circumstances." A federal agent was guarding the doorway and would not let reporters enter the building. "This morning, a search warrant executed by the FBI in the City of Orange…

(Source: cincinnati.com) A man was indicted in federal court Tuesday on allegations he defrauded the Department of Veteran Affairs more than $123,000 between April of 2015 and October of 2016, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. Shawn Oliger, 43, of Cincinnati, said he served in the Marine Corps from 1990 to 1993 and applied for disability compensation, medical care and housing, according to the affidavit filed in by Todd Springer…

(Source: nj.com) NEWARK -- The wife of an ex-Bayonne police officer who beat a handcuffed man was sentenced today to one year of probation for her part in a scheme to illegally obtain a $20,000 federal housing loan. Rose Lillo fought back tears as she apologized to U.S District Court Judge Kevin McNulty and pleaded to be allowed to stay with her family. "I have never asked anyone for anything in my 45 years," Lillo said. "My husband and my…

(Source: nhregister.com) BRIDGEPORT >> A former West Haven Housing Authority employee has been ordered by a federal judge to pay more than $130,000 in restitution for his role in encouraging the organization to enter into contracts with close friends who owed him money. John Sandella, 54, of Orange, pleaded guilty in September to one count of receipt of compensation with the unlawful intent to defeat the purposes of the U.S. Department of…

United Shore Financial Services LLC (USFS) has agreed to pay the United States $48 million 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 Justice Department announced today.  USFS is headquartered in Troy, Michigan…

BOSTON – A Boston Cab dispatcher and his wife were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with arranging a sham marriage for an Ethiopian relative so he could obtain legal status in the United States. Girma Tilahun, 61, a dispatcher for EJT Management, Inc., which operates Boston Cab, and his wife, Wudnesh Wolde, 54, both of Cambridge, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper to two years of probation and…

TRENTON, N.J. – A former supervisor at Amtrak in Essex County, New Jersey, today admitted soliciting and accepting more than $7,000 worth of items for his personal use from a vendor as a reward for spending more than $185,000 with the vendor in his capacity as an Amtrak Building and Bridges Supervisor, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Louis Moschitti, 68, of Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G…

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ROBERT LEES, a former senior executive of Universal Forest Products, Inc. (“UFP”), was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas to 50 months in prison for conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in a loan application.  LEES was found guilty by a jury on May 20, 2016, after a seven-day trial…

(Source: framinghamsource.com) BOSTON – A Milford woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with embezzling over $70,000 in rent payments owed to the Framingham Housing Authority. Rosa A. Famania, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling money from an agency receiving federal funds. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for March 14, 2017. In February 2010, Famania began working…

BOSTON – Edward J. Tutunjian, who has owned and operated Boston Cab through his company, EJT Management, Inc., for more than four decades, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston for payroll tax evasion, employing illegal aliens and for failing to pay overtime wages. Tutunjian, 67, of Belmont, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 20 months of probation, 18 months of which must be spent at Coolidge House…

BOSTON – A Milford woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with embezzling over $70,000 in rent payments owed to the Framingham Housing Authority (FHA).     Rosa A. Famania, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling money from an agency receiving federal funds.  U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for March 14, 2017. In February 2010, Famania began…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Shannon C. Boston, 44, of Sunbury, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District court today to one count of failing to account for and pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, James Vanderberg, Special Agent in…

(Source: housingwire.com) A little over five years ago, the government sued Allied Home Mortgage, its various entities, and its president and CEO, Jim Hodge for $834 million, claiming that Allied engaged in repeated fraud against the Federal Housing Administration over a 10-year period. The government claimed that Allied Home Mortgage, Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corporation, at Hodge’s direction committed repeated violations of the False…