Maryland Man Nabbed in $2.2 Million Mortgage Fraud Scam

Thomas E. Green of Ocean City, Md. has pled guilty to fraudulently securing nearly $2.2 million in loans to purchase five properties in Cape Charles, Va. Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Green pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Green admitted that from January 2007-September 2008, he conspired with others to commit mortgage fraud on various properties located in the Cape Charles area of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. He signed loan applications for two properties falsely stating that he had a monthly income of $26,500 and $24,500, respectively, when in reality he did not earn that amount. For three other properties, he claimed that the down payment he provided—which ranged from $55,000 to $145,000—was from his own funds, when he knew that the funds came from his fellow conspirators. Based on Green’s false representations, he was able to secure five mortgages valued at approximately $2.18 million from various mortgage lenders. To date, five individuals have been convicted as a result of this investigation, including the co-owner of Creative Property Development, a loan broker, and others who made false representations on their loan applications to fraudulently purchase multiple investment properties in the Eastern Shore.