Chaval Williams of Centennial, Colo. Has been sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martinez to serve 74 months in federal prison for wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering federal authorities have announced. Following his prison sentence, Williams was ordered to serve three years on supervised release. Williams was also ordered by Judge Martinez to pay $766,800.81 in restitution. He was ordered to report to a Bureau of Prisons facility once one is designated. Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on June 8, 2011 and pled guilty on May 29, 2013.
According to the indictment and plea agreement, from March 2005, through December 2006, Williams conducted business in the State of Colorado through his company “TCW of Denver Inc.”, during which time he arranged for or assisted buyers to obtain loans for the purchase of homes. He held himself out to others as a real estate investor, involved in the purchase and sale of residential real estate for investment purposes.
Williams with the assistance of others devised a scheme to defraud real estate lenders, particularly by fraudulently securing real estate financing for the purchase of properties, typically through the use of nominee (or straw) homebuyers. Williams informed some of the buyers that they were making a legitimate real estate purchase for investment purposes. In some instances, he made certain buyers aware in the course of assisting them obtain a home loan based on false representations to the lender. In several instances, Williams along with others used the stolen identity and good credit history of two particular individuals.
Williams sometimes provided false information to lenders including proof of employment such as pay stubs or wage and tax statements, bank statements, verifications of employment, rent or deposit, letters of explanation related to buyers’ credit history, affidavits of intent to occupy the purchased residence and identification documents.
Furthermore, Williams sometimes caused or assisted in causing lenders to provide a significant portion of lender funds directly to himself or his company TCW of Denver. To make these payments appear legitimate, he sometimes caused false and fictitious promissory notes, payoff statements, or other documents to be presented in connection with the closing of the property. He arranged for home buyers to receive kickbacks as payment for their role in purchasing a home. Williams on several occasions purchased and then resold a home to a buyer within the same day, collecting a substantial profit from the resale and would conceal from the lender the resale of the property. The total loss amount Williams caused to the functional institutions was over $2.4 million.
“The significant prison sentence pronounced in this case is appropriate given the defendant’s criminal conduct,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “Mortgage fraud schemes, like the one Williams implemented, not only adversely impact the housing market, they also hurt our entire economy.”
“This is a simple case of pure greed” said Stephen Boyd, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office. “This is evident by the fact that Williams concealed from lenders the purchase and reselling of homes within the same day.”
“Identifying and investigating this fraud was only possible through the collaborative effort of several law enforcement agencies and the United States Attorney’s Office,” stated FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle. “We are confident this sentence will deter Williams and others from manipulating home buyers and financial institutions in the future.”
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service.
