United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton has announced that U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr. has sentenced Barry C. Westergom of Jacksonville, Fla. to four years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. The court also ordered restitution in the amount of $866,141.62 and entered a money judgment for $100,000, the amount that Westergom had obtained from the fraud. Westergom had pleaded guilty on Oct. 8, 2009.Read more

Judy “Miu Wan” Yeung was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, and three counts of witness tampering by a federal jury, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. The jury, after deliberating for one day, found that Yeung engaged in a mortgage fraud conspiracy between approximately December 2004 and January 2007. Yeung, together with two mortgage brokers, recruited five individuals to submit loan applications in their names in order to obtain loans totaling more than $6.5 million.Read more

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Manhattan real estate developer Michael Hershkowitz was sentenced to four years in prison for his participation in a $27 million Ponzi scheme involving fraudulent loans secured by nonexistent mortgages. According to the documents filed in the case in Manhattan federal court, Hershkowitz, working through a Manhattan real estate development company, The Kingsland Group Inc., and related entities (collectively, The Kingsland Group), fraudulently induced approximately 100 individuals tRead more

Four participants in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that affected 210 residential properties, including 205 in Montgomery County, have been sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett. Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Jose Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and other members of the Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force announced the sentences handed down by U.S. District Judge Michael A.Read more

Jeffrey L. Levin of Atlanta, pleaded guilty in federal district court to causing materially false entries that overvalued bank assets to be made in the books, reports and statements of Omni National Bank. Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This case demonstrates the damage that can result when senior bank officials ignore rules and regulations designed to protect a bank by identifying problem loans.Read more

A federal grand jury here has indicted six members of a family and one of their employees charging them with operating a mortgage fraud conspiracy between 2004 and 2009. Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and Gerald A. O’Farrell, Assistant Inspector in Charge, announced the indictment returned against the following individuals:Read more

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Benjamin Osmanson of California, the former operator of the Highgate Manor, in Highgate, Vt., was sentenced to nine years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $12 million in restitution during an appearance before the Hon. J. Garvan Murtha in federal court in Brattleboro, Vt.Read more

Four Detroit area residents were indicted on charges of wire fraud and interstate transportation of money taken by fraud, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Charged in the 14-count indictment were Melvin A. Johnson of Lathrup Village, Mich.; Curtiss Johnson of Novi, Mich.; Brady Muse Jr. of Novi, Mich.; and Lanita J. Gatewood of Detroit.Read more

Mark Roth of Indianapolis was sentenced to 43 months in federal prison by Circuit Judge David F. Hamilton following Roth’s guilty pleas to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. This sentencing concerned Roth’s role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme operated by Robert Penn. Roth was found responsible for 25 fraudulent loans, including the first 11 Windsor Village loans, amounting to more than $5 million.Read more

Robert Andrew Penn, formerly of Indianapolis, was sentenced to seven years in prison by Circuit Judge David F. Hamilton for Penn’s part in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme in the Indianapolis area. Penn had entered guilty pleas to charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering. Co-defendant Tamara E.Read more