June’s Perp Walk: Lifestyles of the Charged, Tried and Convicted

Mortgage Fraud Blog is the leading provider of information on the criminal investigations, arrests, convictions and sentencing of individuals in the United States that were engaged in committing felony acts leading to the theft of millions of dollars in commissions, loan proceeds and in some cases, individual identities.

To date, Rachel Dollar and her staff are;

• tracking 1,838 cases nationwide involving mortgage fraud
• calculated total restitution of $2,411,951,999.20
• verified 5,055 total years sentenced
• calculated the average restitution awarded is $1,312,269.86, and
• verified the average prison sentence is 3 years

While the FBI and State District Attorneys across the country have forged a vigorous investigative effort leading to the capture of numerous individuals engaged in mortgage fraud, the one thing it hasn’t done is deter those willing to commit fraud in the housing industry.

Illegal Short Sale and Foreclosure Scams have risen to replace the mortgage frauds committed using straw buyers, stolen identities and outright house theft.

In fact, perpetrators have taken the same techniques used in mortgage fraud schemes and have dressed them up to appear as legitimate resources for distressed homeowners with, in some cases, endorsement by local municipal authorities and elected officials.

Recently, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued cease and desist letters to 182 foreclosure rescue firms operating in New York State.

What’s apparent from the effort produced to date by law enforcement is that it has not proven to be enough of a deterrent for future crimes of fraud in the mortgage banking industry.

Our goal each time we publish the most recent criminal investigations in the tri-state area is to familiarize our readers with the schemes and conspiracies perpetrated by white collar criminals bent on preying upon an unsuspecting public.

Here are the recent cases in New York City and throughout the tri-state area.

1. Sharmon Howell, leader of a Queens, New York Mortgage Fraud Ring Pleads Guilty

2. Gregory Cooper, Mortgage Broker, is sentenced to Prison for Predatory Mortgage Schemes in Queens and the Bronx

3. Tony Ramzan, Mortgage Broker, is sentenced for stealing $6 million in Loan Proceeds in Queens, New York

4. Peter Hartofilis, Mortgage Manager in Flushing NY, Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud

5. Roger Molina and 27 others Charged with Coordinated Mortgage Fraud involving 17 Properties in New Jersey

Michael A. Corley is a licensed Real Estate Broker and Exec. Vice President at Corley Realty Group.  Born and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant, he now resides in Crown Heights with his wife and children