U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara has announced that three mortgage loan officers, Frederick Warren, Dorian Brown and Fritz Bonaventure have each pled guilty for their roles in a $9 million mortgage fraud scheme. The defendants pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.
“Frederick Warren, Dorian Brown, and Fritz Bonaventure betrayed the lending institutions for which they worked, approving loan applications they knew were bogus and would end up in default," said Bharara. "Their pleas today are sterling examples of how federal and state authorities can work together to identify, prosecute, and punish those who engage in mortgage fraud.”
According to the indictment, Warren, Brown and Bonaventure, along with nine other individuals, engaged in an illegal scheme to defraud various lending institutions by using fictitious and fraudulent “straw identities” to apply for mortgage loans. Through the scheme, the defendants were able to obtain more than $9 million in mortgage loans for the purchase of dozens of residential properties throughout the New York City metropolitan area and Long Island. Most of these loans quickly went into default. Warren, Brown, and Bonaventure each acted as loan officers who processed the fraudulent mortgage applications.
Warren of Miller Place, N.Y. and Brown of Mount Sinai, N.Y. each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. They face a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. Bonaventure of Lithonia, Ga. pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
Co-defendants Jeffrey Larochelle, Joell Barnett, Foriduzzaman Sarder, Sakat Hossain, and Mikael Huq previously pled guilty in this case. Sarder was sentenced by Judge Buchwald on June 26, 2011 to 78 months in prison. Hossain was sentenced to 29 months in prison. The sentencings of Larochelle, Barnett and Huq are pending.
Criminal charges remain pending against the following defendants: Eric Finger, Reginald Johnson, Denise Parks and Brandon Lisi. The trial for these defendants is scheduled to begin on May 7, 2012, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
