Pennsylvania mortgage broker pleads guilty in fraud case

Frank J. Dattilo of Holland, Pa. has pleaded guilty today to two counts of mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders and enrich himself. Dattilo was the owner and operator of the mortgage brokerage firm Provident Financial Group (PFG), which was located in Bensalem, Pa. Dattilo marketed to people with poor credit or low incomes. Dattilo and two employees, Michael Giello and Jason Megow, were indicted in April. Between January 2004 and February 2007, the defendants created false documents for use in mortgage applications. The falsified forms, among other things, overstated borrowers’ income, falsely showed that borrowers had rental histories, and showed that a property was an income-producing rental property when, in fact, it was not. These fraudulent documents made borrowers appear more creditworthy than they were, thereby misleading the banks into funding the mortgage loans. Dattilo would present borrowers with a settlement sheet that included unexpected costs and fees. He then offered to cover closing costs by having the borrowers sign a second mortgage that they would owe to Dattilo and which was concealed from the lenders. This second mortgage resulted in a lien on the property in defendant Dattilo’s name. Several borrowers did not have enough income to cover both mortgages and defaulted on their loans, resulting in foreclosures. Giello and Megow have previously pleaded guilty. All three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 8. Each defendant faces a possible maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, a fine of up to $2 million restitution, and three years' supervised release. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Pennsylvania Department of Banking. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Maria M. Carrillo.