SACRAMENTO, CA—U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb sentenced Joel
Blanford, 44, of San Ramon, California, to 30 months in prison, to be
followed by three years of supervised release, for a mortgage fraud
scheme, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. On September 19,
2012, following a seven-day trial, a jury found Blanford guilty of six
counts of mail fraud.
This case was the product of an investigation by the FBI and the
Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Paul A. Hemesath and Michael M. Beckwith prosecuted the case.
According to evidence presented at trial, from approximately April
2003 through October 2005, Blanford, while working as a senior sales
representative for Long Beach Mortgage, a wholesale subprime lender and
former subsidiary of Washington Mutual Inc., participated in a scheme to
defraud his employer. Blanford earned compensation based on the volume
of loans processed by Long Beach Mortgage. The evidence established that
he paid a loan coordinator in cash and checks to falsify documents,
provide false verification of borrowers’ employment or professional
licensing status and turn a blind eye to fraudulent representations
contained in loan applications and other documents submitted to Long
Beach Mortgage.
In each of the years 2003, 2004, and 2005, before taxes and payroll
deductions, Blanford received more than $1 million in commissions and
other compensation from Long Beach Mortgage as a result of his scheme.
Between April 2003 and October 2005, he paid the loan coordinator more
than $50,000 in checks alone.
U.S. Attorney Wagner stated, “This investigation exposed a
sophisticated chain of fraud that started at the homebuyer level and
extended all the way to banking insiders. It is a lesson that those
earning million-dollar paychecks are not exempt from significant
criminal penalties.”
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Reginald Dodson Sr. pleaded guilty today to mail fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme
SACRAMENTO, CA—Reginald Dodson Sr., 42, of Tracy, pleaded
guilty today to mail fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme,
United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Beckwith is prosecuting the case.
According to court documents, between October and December 2006, Dodson knowingly participated in a scheme to obtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent representations and promises. Buena Marshall, 67, of Sacramento, recruited Temika Reed, 32, of Bay Point, an unqualified straw buyer, to purchase seven properties at inflated prices using, in most cases, 100 percent financing. Marshall, a licensed real estate salesperson, acted as Reed’s agent for four of the seven property purchases. Deborah Loudermilk, 55, of Suisun City, also a licensed real estate salesperson, acted as Reed’s agent for two of the seven property purchases. Dodson, who worked for W.B. Financial, was the loan officer on three of Reed’s seven property purchases.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Beckwith is prosecuting the case.
According to court documents, between October and December 2006, Dodson knowingly participated in a scheme to obtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent representations and promises. Buena Marshall, 67, of Sacramento, recruited Temika Reed, 32, of Bay Point, an unqualified straw buyer, to purchase seven properties at inflated prices using, in most cases, 100 percent financing. Marshall, a licensed real estate salesperson, acted as Reed’s agent for four of the seven property purchases. Deborah Loudermilk, 55, of Suisun City, also a licensed real estate salesperson, acted as Reed’s agent for two of the seven property purchases. Dodson, who worked for W.B. Financial, was the loan officer on three of Reed’s seven property purchases.
Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud Charges
LOS ANGELES—The CEO and co-owner of a Diamond Bar investment company
pleaded guilty this afternoon to two federal felony counts arising from
his scheme to defraud investors who put $49 million into his bogus
day-trading venture.
Syed Qaisar Madad pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax fraud, admitting in court today that investors lost more than $31 million when his scheme collapsed in March 2011.
Starting in 2005, Madad collected money from investors who believed he generated consistent, substantial profits and that their money would be safe and available upon request. During the five-and-a-half-year life of the scheme, Madad received more than $49 million from investors.
Syed Qaisar Madad pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax fraud, admitting in court today that investors lost more than $31 million when his scheme collapsed in March 2011.
Starting in 2005, Madad collected money from investors who believed he generated consistent, substantial profits and that their money would be safe and available upon request. During the five-and-a-half-year life of the scheme, Madad received more than $49 million from investors.
Fourteen Arrested for Market Manipulation Schemes That Caused Thousands of Investors to Lose More Than $30 Million
LOS ANGELES—Federal authorities have arrested 14 people
named in two federal indictments that allege long-term schemes to
manipulate stock prices that led to more than 20,000 investors losing
over $30 million when artificially inflated stock prices collapsed. As
one defendant described his scheme during a wiretapped phone call: “What
I do is turn stock into money.”
The arrests were made yesterday after two grand jury indictments were unsealed Wednesday. The indictments detail two separate, large-scale fraud schemes in which conspirators gained control of the majority of the stock of publicly traded companies, often co-opting company management to assist in these efforts; concealed their control of the stock by purchasing and transferring shares to offshore accounts and to nominee entities with names such as “Dojo,” “Picasso,” and “Big Dog”; fraudulently inflated the prices and trading volumes of the companies’ stocks through slick marketing campaigns, misleading press releases, payments to stock promoters, and “cross-trading” among co-conspirators that made it appear the stocks were being actively traded; coordinated the sale of the companies’ shares at the peak of the fraudulently manipulated market; and hid profits in nominee and offshore accounts.
The arrests were made yesterday after two grand jury indictments were unsealed Wednesday. The indictments detail two separate, large-scale fraud schemes in which conspirators gained control of the majority of the stock of publicly traded companies, often co-opting company management to assist in these efforts; concealed their control of the stock by purchasing and transferring shares to offshore accounts and to nominee entities with names such as “Dojo,” “Picasso,” and “Big Dog”; fraudulently inflated the prices and trading volumes of the companies’ stocks through slick marketing campaigns, misleading press releases, payments to stock promoters, and “cross-trading” among co-conspirators that made it appear the stocks were being actively traded; coordinated the sale of the companies’ shares at the peak of the fraudulently manipulated market; and hid profits in nominee and offshore accounts.
Dallas Woman Who Represented Herself as a Real Estate Investor Sentenced to 63 Months in Federal Prison
DALLAS—Patience Lavon Jackson, 50, of Arlington, Texas, was sentenced
this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 63 months in
federal prison and ordered to pay $2,801,661.95 in restitution,
following her conviction for leading a conspiracy to defraud residential
mortgage lenders, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the
Northern District of Texas. Judge Boyle ordered that Jackson surrender
to the Bureau of Prisons on April 3, 2013.
Jackson pleaded guilty in October 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Co-defendant Anthony Davis, Jr., 32, of Mesquite, Texas, who was employed as a branch manager at Bank of America, pleaded guilty in September 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25, 2013. Charlie M. Smith, Jr., of California, another co-defendant in the case, is facing similar charges in the Southern District of Ohio; that case will be adjudicated first.
Jackson pleaded guilty in October 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Co-defendant Anthony Davis, Jr., 32, of Mesquite, Texas, who was employed as a branch manager at Bank of America, pleaded guilty in September 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25, 2013. Charlie M. Smith, Jr., of California, another co-defendant in the case, is facing similar charges in the Southern District of Ohio; that case will be adjudicated first.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Radio Talk Show Indicted in $9.7 Million Mortgage Fraud Schemes
A suburban Chicago lawyer who hosts a national radio talk show was
indicted on federal charges for allegedly engaging in two mortgage fraud
schemes that defrauded lenders of a total of approximately $9.7
million. The defendant, Warren Ballentine, allegedly schemed with others
to obtain more than two dozen fraudulent mortgage loans and represented
buyers at multiple closings, knowing that they were fraudulently
qualified for loans to purchase homes in Chicago and various southern
suburbs.
Ballentine, 41, of Durham, North Carolina, and formerly of Country Club Hills, owns the Law Office of Warren Ballentine LLC in Country Club Hills. He was charged with two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making false statements to lenders, and one count each of mail fraud and wire fraud in a six-count indictment returned last Thursday by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $9,775,000 in alleged fraud proceeds.
Ballentine is scheduled to be arraigned at 9:30 a.m. on February 5 before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Federal Court in Chicago.
Ballentine, 41, of Durham, North Carolina, and formerly of Country Club Hills, owns the Law Office of Warren Ballentine LLC in Country Club Hills. He was charged with two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making false statements to lenders, and one count each of mail fraud and wire fraud in a six-count indictment returned last Thursday by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $9,775,000 in alleged fraud proceeds.
Ballentine is scheduled to be arraigned at 9:30 a.m. on February 5 before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Federal Court in Chicago.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Pastor român în SUA condamnat la închisoare pentru hărţuire sexuală
Un
pastor român a fost condamnat marţi la închisoare în statul american
Pennsylvania, după ce a recunoscut că ar fi hărţuit sexual două femei
din parohia sa, relatează site-ul Reading Eagle.
Aron
Andonie, în vârstă de 47 de ani, a pledat vinovat în faţa judecătorului
Paul M. Yatron, pentru că ar fi urmărit şi hărţuit o tănără în vârstă
de 21 de ani din Cumru şi o femeie în vârstă de 46 de ani din Reading.
Autorităţile pentru imigraţie vor determina dacă el va fi deportat după
ispăşirea pedepsei de 106 zile până la 11 luni şi jumătate de
închisoare. Începând cu anul 2004, Andonie a fost pastor al Bisericii
lui Dumnezeu din Spring Valley, Muhlenberg. Bărbatul a declarat că ar fi
găsit un telefon în parcarea unui centru comercial, pe care l-ar fi
folosit să trimită mesaje la aproximativ 25 de persoane pe care le
cunoştea din biserică, întâlnite în magazine, sau la întâmplare. Dintre
acestea doar două persoane au depus plângere la poliţie. Colleen Dugan,
procuror adjunct, a explicat
că Andonie a reîncărcat creditul telefonului de mai multe ori, în cele
din urmă aruncându-l la gunoi de teamă să nu fie prins. Avocatul său,
Paul S. Missan, a declarat că Andonie nu a înţeles că acţiunile sale
reprezintă o înfracţiune gravă. "A avut o eroare de gândire. (...) A
făcut mult bine. A fost voluntar în cadrul bisericii şi a schimbat viaţa
multor oameni", a afirmat acesta. Tânăra în vârstă de 21 de ani a
declarat poliţiei că a început să primească mesaje, imediat după ce a
fost la un interviu pentru un loc de muncă. Andonie pretindea că
lucrează la compania respectivă, explicându-i tinerei că ar avea de
câştigat dacă ar purta fustă scurtă şi tocuri, iar în alte mesaje a
descris-o ca fiind "sexy" sau "grozavă". Femeia din Reading a declarat
că a primit timp de mai multe luni mesaje, care includeau chiar
fotografii cu organe genitale masculine. Poliţia a cerut companiei de
telefonie
arhivele, pentru a determina data şi locul unde a fost reîncărcat
telefonul, obţinând de la magazinele respective înregistrările video,
care au permis identificarea lui Andonie.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
3 People Sentenced for Submitting False Loan Applications
Brian Armet, 36, Santa Margarita, California, Rigoberto Hernandez, 37, Santa Maria, California, and Julio Tamayo, 42, Santa Maria, who participated in a complex mortgage fraud scheme operated out of Santa Maria, were sentenced to federal prison terms and ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution to various lenders that suffered losses as a result of having funded loans procured through fraud.
Amet was sentenced to one year and one day in prison after pleading guilty in July 2011 to conspiring to defraud lenders by preparing loans packages that contained false information about prospective borrowers' employment and assets.
Hernandez was sentenced to eight months in prison, and Tamayo was sentenced to six months in prison. After being indicted one year ago, Hernandez and Tamayo pleaded guilty earlier in 2012 to mortgage fraud charges.
The three men were sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who ordered the defendants to pay $2,412,294 in restitution to four lending victims.
The fraudulent mortgage fraud scheme operated through Custom House Home Loans (CHHL), a Santa Maria real estate mortgage company that Armet started in early 2006. Armet was a licensed mortgage broker and the main loan officer at CHHL, where he prepared and submitted loan application packages. Hernandez and Tamayo worked at CHHL and helped prepare loans applications by obtaining information from clients.
In instances where the information was insufficient to ensure that a client would qualify for a loan, Armet, Tamayo and Hernandez arranged with employers in the Santa Maria area to verify that they employed the applicant. Armet included the false and fraudulent employment information in loan applications that were submitted to lenders, including Homecoming Financial, Freddie Mac, Bank of America and Carrington Mortgage Company. Lenders relied on these fraudulent loan applications that contained false information to fund loans. As a result of this fraud, approximately 19 loans went into default, causing lenders to suffer approximately $2.4 million in losses.
The case against Armet, Tamayo and Hernandez is the result of an investigation by the Santa Maria office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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