Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has announced that Frederick Warren and Denise Parks, two loan officers, were sentenced in Manhattan federal court for their roles in a $9 million mortgage fraud scheme in which 12 people were originally charged and 11 have pled guilty. Warren was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $1,993,000 after pleading guilty on April 11, 2012, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. Parks was sentenced to time served and ordered to forfeit $2,554,000 after pleading guilty on April 19, 2012, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
“Frederick Warren and Denise Parks will now be forced to forfeit over $4.5 million in ill-gotten gains from a scheme that left banks holding the bag for bogus mortgages that should never have been issued," said Bharara. "Their punishments should serve as another reminder that we will aggressively prosecute those who engage in mortgage fraud schemes.”
According to the Indictment and statements made in court proceedings:
Warren, Parks and 10 other individuals defrauded various lending institutions by using fictitious and fraudulent “straw identities” to apply for mortgage loans. Warren and Parks prepared and processed the fraudulent mortgage applications. 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 the loans quickly went into default.
In addition to his prison term, Warren of Miller Place, N.Y., was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $1,993,000 and to pay a $200 special assessment fee. In addition to her prison term, Parks of Olive Branch, Miss. was sentenced to two years of supervised release. She was also ordered to forfeit $2,554,000 and to pay a $100 special assessment fee.
Co-defendants Jeffrey Larochelle, Dorian Brown, Fritz Bonaventure, Joell Barnett, Foriduzzaman Sarder, Sakat Hossain, Mikael Huq, Eric Finger, and Reginald Johnson also previously pled guilty. Sarder was sentenced to 78 months in prison, Hossain was sentenced to 29 months in prison, and Huq was sentenced to 42 months in prison. All three defendants were sentenced by Judge Buchwald. The remaining defendants await sentencing. Criminal charges remain pending against Brandon Lisi. The charges against him are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
