Donna Demello has pleaded guilty in federal court in Oakland to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. At the time of the offense, Demello worked as an escrow officer at Stewart Title in Milpitas, Calif. Demello, currently of San Jose, Calif., was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 13, 2010. She and five others, including James Delbert McConville, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.Read more

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has announced that Ravi Persaud, a real estate attorney, and George Esso, a former loan officer, were found guilty of participating in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme through GuyAmerican Funding Corporation, a mortgage brokerage located in Queens, N.Y. The scheme involved the use of numerous fraudulent loan applications designed to trick banks into lending money to unqualified borrowers for the purchase of residential properties in the New York City area.Read more

A citizen of Ghana has been charged in federal court with wire fraud involving millions of dollars for selling at least 16 condominium units to straw buyers who he recruited for the purpose of obtaining mortgage loans based on false loan applications. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Boston Field Division; Robert Bethel, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Steven D. Ricciardi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S.Read more

Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has announced that David Ramnauth, former president of GuyAmerican Funding Corporation, a mortgage brokerage firm in Queens, N.Y., has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. Ramnauth was charged in a Superseding Indictment along with eight other defendants for their participation in a scheme that defrauded banks out of more than $23 million in home mortgage loans.Read more

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., has announced guilty verdicts for defendants Aaron Hand, Kenneth Law and Eric Shields after a jury trial, and for defendant Jerry Strklja after a bench trial. The defendants were found guilty of multiple felonies, including Enterprise Corruption, Scheme to Defraud, Conspiracy, and dozens of Grand Larcenies, all arising from a mortgage fraud scheme conducted through a corrupt loan origination company called AFG Financial Group Inc.Read more

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; J.Read more

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz has sentenced Timothy Reed of Beltsville, Md. to 51 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for mail fraud arising from the fraudulent purchase of 25 properties in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia using false mortgage and settlement documents. Judge Motz also ordered that Reed pay $4,196,967 in restitution.Read more

Kenneth Steward from South Holland, Ill. was arrested on federal charges alleging that he and six co-defendants participated in a $35 million mortgage fraud scheme involving more than 120 residential properties located primarily on the city’s south side. Steward, who bought and sold homes and recruited others to act as residential purchasers, and his co-defendants allegedly caused various lenders and financial institutions to lose at least approximately $16 million on mortgage loans that were not repaid by the borrowers or fully recovered through subsequent foreclosure sales.Read more

A former Las Vegas resident has pleaded guilty to conspiracy for his involvement in a Nevada mortgage fraud scheme involving straw buyers and falsified mortgage loan documents, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. Brian K. Jackson, currently of Anaheim, Calif., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud and is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 8, 2010. Jackson was indicted by the Federal Grand Jury in Las Vegas on Oct. 21, 2009.Read more

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy has announced that Rollo Richard “Rick” Norton II was sentenced in federal court in San Diego by United States District Judge Marilyn L. Huff to serve 24 months in prison plus three years of supervised release in connection with a felony charge of mail fraud arising from his participation in a scheme to draw equity out of a San Diego condominium complex through a series of sham purchase transactions and refinances. Norton also faces an order of restitution from the Court.Read more