David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, has announced that a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven, Conn. has returned an 11-count indictment charging Steven J. Kottage and Genaro R. Hathaway, both of Weston, Conn., and Mary Ellen Durso of Milford, Conn. with conspiracy and other offenses stemming from the defendants alleged involvement in mortgage fraud.Read more

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, has announced that a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven has returned 14-count superseding indictment charging six individuals for their participation in an alleged mortgage fraud scheme. The indictment alleges that Syed A. Babar of New London, Conn.; Thomas E. Gallagher of West Haven, Conn.; Morris I. Olmer of New Haven, Conn.; David Avigdor of New Haven, Conn.; Nathan M. Russo of Johnston, R.I. and Rab Nawaz of Waterford, Conn.Read more

A federal indictment was unsealed that charged three Minnesotans in connection with an alleged mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in a $16 million loss for lenders. The indictment, filed with the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on June 15, was unsealed following the initial appearances of the three defendants, which occurred earlier. The indictment charges Ericvan Anthony McDavid of Brooklyn Center, Minn.; Larry Africanus Hutchinson of St. Paul, Minn.Read more

United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner has announced that a federal grand jury returned a 48-count indictment charging 10 defendants with conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud, mail fraud, and making false statements in mortgage applications to federally insured banks. The defendants are as follows: Hoda Samuel of Elk Grove, Calif.; Connie Devers of Elk Grove, Calif.; Dana Faulkner of Oakland, Calif.; Charles Robert Maness of Elk Grove, Calif.; Tracy Painter of Lodi, Calif.; Sean Patrick Gjerde of Elk Grove, Calif.; Ronald Burris of Elk Grove, Calif.; YRead more

An indictment was unsealed against Kirk H. Kirby, Sholonda Y. Johnson, and Royal K. Williams, charging them with three counts, each, of wire fraud, in connection with a real estate investment scheme that caused more than $7 million in losses to lenders, as announced by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Kirby owned and operated Invictus Financial Group (IFG), located in Havertown, Pa. Johnson was a loan officer at various mortgage brokerage companies. Williams was an accountant and the principal of R. Williams and Co.Read more

A 10-count indictment has been unsealed charging six individuals with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt. The defendants are charged with submitting false and fraudulent mortgage loan applications and related documents to banks and other lending institutions, thereby inducing the institutions to make approximately 36 loans totaling approximately $20,800,000.Read more

A federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment charging Joshua Lee Butcher of Salt Lake City, with bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution in what the indictment alleges was a scheme to get construction loans approved using false pretenses. This indictment follows an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Utah Mortgage Fraud Task Force.Read more

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Joseph M. Demarest Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Louis Cherico, a lawyer who practiced in New York City and Westchester County, with participating in a wide-ranging scheme to commit mortgage fraud, obstruction of justice, and money laundering.

According to the Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court:Read more

A federal grand jury in San Francisco has indicted Michael Ohayon and David Papera with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and money laundering, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. According to the indictment, Ohayon and Papera are alleged to have recruited 13 straw buyers who used their good credit scores to obtain more than $19.6 million in fraudulent residential mortgage loans from Washington Mutual Bank, with no intention of making either downpayments or mortgage payments on the properties.Read more

Andrew T. Baxter, United States Attorney; Rene Febles, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, John F. Pikus, Special Agent in Charge, Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Patricia J.Read more