SAN JUAN, P.R – On March 29, 2017, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a one count indictment charging Tommy Rudy Habibe-Arias with making false statements in an application for a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loan (commonly known as a “Reverse Mortgage”), announced Read More

NEWARK, N.J. – A former salesman at Bayway Lumber, a Linden, New Jersey company that sold commercial and industrial products to numerous public and private entities, was charged today with defrauding Bayway Lumber customers and knowingly making false statements before a federal grand jury, Acting Read More

BOSTON – A Methuen attorney and a Methuen loan officer 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. Separately, a Methuen real estate broker was arrested on Read More

(Source: patch.com) ELIZABETH, NJ — A Union County man is among five more people to be charged criminally Thursday with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced. James Fomuke, 58, of Elizabeth was among Read More

(Source: The Guam Daily Post) Former Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority legal counsel Mark Smith denied to the GHURA board any financial interest that conflicted with his role with the agency, but an indictment alleged that he did have a conflict, which he tried to disguise through a series Read More

(Source: Kaum News) Unsealed in the District Court of Guam today, two men have been indicted in the federal court for 56 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and theft of government property, to name a few. Attorney Mark Smith was hired by GHURA as legal counsel in March 2011, and was Read More

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

Source: Source: Victoria Advocate) By Jessica Priest March 7, 2017 at 10:36 p.m. The Victoria Housing Authority is in the midst of its fourth management shake- up in about two years. Its board of directors fired Louis Boldt during a Feb. 28 meeting. Boldt replaced longtime executive director Read More

BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, David Gotterup was sentenced at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, to 15 years in prison for leading a loan modification scheme that defrauded distressed homeowners. Gotterup pleaded guilty on June 16, 2016, to conspiring to commit wire, mail and bank fraud Read More

LOS ANGELES – Two defendants linked to a mortgage fraud scheme that cost at least $2.4 million when fraudulently purchased homes went into foreclosure have been sentenced to federal prison. The case involves a scheme to fraudulently obtain mortgages for residential properties through the use of “ Read More

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Michael Gerard Camphor, age 60, of Baltimore, to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on charges arising from the fraudulent purchase of four properties in Baltimore, using fraudulent loan Read More

(Source: nj.com) A former accountant for the City of Bayonne was sentenced to 21 months in prison today for accepting bribes in return for funneling hundreds of thousands in federal grant money to a local contractor. Anselmo "Rocky" Crisonino, 56, was also sentenced to three years of supervised Read More

The former executive director of the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. (NWCDC) today admitted accepting approximately $999,000 in kickback payments in exchange for her assistance in awarding work to various vendors and contractors of the agency, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman Read More

FREEHOLD – The former executive director of the Asbury Park Housing Authority, who is also the ex-mayor of Lawrence Township, has been indicted on 38 counts of official misconduct and other charges, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni announced Monday. An investigation Read More

(Source: nj.gov) TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that eight 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 Read More

(Source: Justice.gov) Franklin American Mortgage Company has agreed to pay the United States $70 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) Read More

(Source: FBI.gov) NEWARK N.J.—An Elizabeth, New Jersey, man today admitted recruiting straw buyers and submitting bogus loan applications as part of large-scale mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in northern New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Miguel LaRosa, 48, pleaded Read More

(Source: nj.com) TRENTON — A Toms River man who received more than $218,000 in Hurricane Sandy relief aid has admitted to filing fraudulent applications for funding from government-run storm recovery programs, authorities said. Gregory Wagner, 63, pleaded guilty in state Superior Court on Monday Read More

(Source: Realtytoday.com) Real estate attorney, Hyacinth Bellerose, pleaded guilty in participating in a wide-ranged scheme to defraud banks and mortgage companies. The scheme was done as part of a conspiracy involving sham "short" sales of numerous residential properties in the Merrimack Valley Read More

(Source: CBS6 News) ALBANY -- Public housing is a program designed to help low-income families by giving them a roof over their head.  Last year, about 1.1 million families received public housing assistance.   However, people continue to use the system - even after their salaries Read More