The 2017 Great River MBA Conference will be held May 9-11, 2017 at The Peabody, 149 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tenn. 

The Great River MBA Conference is the place to be in the mortgage industry! 

With the addition of a fourth host state, Missouri, this Conference [formerly known as Tri-State MBA Conference] continues to grow in size and status. In 2016, the Great River MBA Conference sold out weeks prior to the event. Don't be left off the attendee list in 2017!

We offer attendees and sponsors an intense 3-days of inspiring and motivational instruction, with opportunity to network with top experts in the mortgage industry. Come learn how to be industry leaders and gain valuable knowledge today to drive success tomorrow. 

If you want to know what is happening in the Southeast, The Great River MBA Conference is the place to be! 

Click here for more information, call (901) 321.6702, e-mail info@greatrivermba.com or visit greatrivermba.com.

Douglas F. Vaughan has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from a fraudulent investment operation that was actually a multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme. The 30-count indictment generally alleges that, between 2005 and 2010, Vaughan operated a promissory note investment program, which he marketed as a means of generating revenue to grow his real estate business, as a Ponzi scheme. It further alleges that Vaughan owed more than $76 million in unpaid principal and interest payments to approximately 600 investors when the fraudulent scheme collapsed in early 2010.
United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that the indictment is the result of a joint federal-state investigation that was initiated by the Securities Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department in September 2009, and later expanded to include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Secret Service.
The indictment was unsealed this morning by the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico after law enforcement officers arrested Vaughan at a residence in Albuquerque's North Valley. It charges Vaughan with three counts of wire fraud, 17 counts of mail fraud, five counts of money laundering, and five counts of false writings and documents. If convicted, Vaughan faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the wire and mail fraud counts, a maximum of 10 years in prison on each of the money laundering counts, and a maximum of five years in prison on each of the false writings counts. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of a residence in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as a money judgment in excess of $74 million.
According to the indictment, Vaughan was the chairman, chief executive officer, president, and majority shareholder of Vaughan Company Realtors (VCR), a business that operated primarily as a residential real estate brokerage and was at one time the largest independent residential brokerage in New Mexico. In spring 1993, Vaughan allegedly began a promissory note investment program (Promissory Note Program) to generate revenue to grow VCR's business. The typical note had a three-year term, an interest rate ranging from eight percent to 40 percent per year, and provided for interest to be paid in monthly installments. At the end of the note's term, Vaughan either paid off the principal or offered the investor the opportunity to "roll over" the principal into a new note. Vaughan allegedly signed each promissory note on behalf of VCR.
The indictment alleges that Vaughan led investors to believe that their investments in the Promissory Note Program were actually or virtually risk-free because they were guaranteed by VCR, Vaughan's personal guarantee, and a $2.5 million deed of trust on certain real estate. Vaughan allegedly marketed his Promissory Note Program by representing that the invested funds would be used to purchase real estate and to acquire smaller real estate companies. Instead, Vaughan used the Promissory Note Program funds primarily for three undisclosed purposes:
►To pay the interest and principal on promissory notes taken out by earlier investors;
►To pay himself, under the guise of salary, bonuses, or some other personal transfers; and
►To subsidize the operation of VCR, which was generating insufficient "legitimate" revenues to sustain itself.
According to the indictment, by 2005, the Promissory Note Program was the primary source of revenue for VCR and, without the infusion of capital generated by new Promissory Note Program investors, VCR was insolvent. Despite this, Vaughan allegedly continued to distribute the same marketing materials for the Promissory Note Program, sign the same promissory notes, and make the same corporate and personal guarantees. Although Vaughan represented to investors that he would not extend more than $2,500,000.00 in promissory notes, financial records allegedly reflect that the aggregate principal balance owed to note holders far exceeded this amount:

2004
$24,351,605.00

2005
$32,299,363.37

2006 
$39,969,110.68

2007
$49,984,845.80

2008
$62,844,445.57

2009
$74,386,623.38

From at least 2005 through February 2010, Vaughan allegedly used funds from new Promissory Note Program investors to make interest payments to existing note holders and thus lulled existing investors into believing that they were being paid returns from VCR's legitimate business revenues. However, VCR's corporate tax returns reflected the following annual losses:

2004
$4,041,048.00

2005
$5,595,285.00

2006
$7,461,409.00

2007
$9,913,893.00

2008
$13,313,323.00

2009
$13,907,738.00

As alleged in the indictment, when his Ponzi scheme began to collapse and he became unable to meet the monthly interest payments to note holders, Vaughan made false and misleading excuses to investors and failed to disclose that VCR had insufficient revenue to make the interest payments. In February 2010, when Vaughan filed for personal and corporate bankruptcy, the aggregate principal balance owned to approximately 600 note holders was approximately $74,745,723.93 and the interest expense owed to note holders exceeded $1 million per month.
In announcing the indictment, United States Attorney Gonzales said, "The case against Vaughan is fundamentally about deceit. Vaughan allegedly misrepresented to investors their guaranteed rate of return, the safety of their investments, and even what it was they were investing in. People who trusted Vaughan ended up losing a lot of money, in some cases, their life savings. My office will diligently and aggressively prosecute Vaughan and others like him who seek to defraud people out of their hard earned money. I commend the Securities Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, the FBI, the Postal Inspection Service, and the Secret Service for the persistent and thorough investigation that led to this significant indictment, and their ongoing efforts to protect the public by detecting and stopping these fraudulent investment schemes."
"Doug Vaughan's arrest brings to a close a Ponzi scam that financially devastated as many as 600 victims, many of them New Mexico residents," said Fort Worth Division Inspector in Charge Randall C. Till. "Consumers have the right to receive mail free of fraudulent promises and deliberate misrepresentations. Before even Charles Ponzi gave the scam its name in the early 20th century, Postal Inspectors vigorously investigated these types of frauds and remain committed to defending innocent consumers against those who would abuse the U.S. Mails to further their criminal enterprises."
For more information, visit www.fbi.gov.

Jeffrey Todd Crandell, 33, of Mesa, Ariz., pleaded guilty on Nov. 9 to six counts of bank fraud for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing will take place Feb. 22, 2010, before U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow. Crandell was the leader of a sophisticated cash-back mortgage fraud scheme. In 2005, he obtained the rights to various parcels of real estate located in Queen Creek, Ariz., obscured his interest in those properties by placing them in the name of his brother-in-law, and then recruited friends and acquaintances to buy the properties for inflated prices—often hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the cost of the land. Crandell also acted as the mortgage broker for each transaction. In that capacity, he was responsible for preparing the buyers’ loan applications. Crandell included multiple lies in the applications in order to persuade the lender to approve the loans. Among other things, he inflated the buyers’ incomes and assets and stated—falsely—that the buyers would be making the downpayment. In fact, at closing, Crandell supplied the down payment on behalf of the buyers and also provided a cash kickback to them. The properties eventually went into foreclosure.
Each conviction for bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison, a $1 million fine, or both. In determining the sentence, Judge Snow will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide advisory sentencing ranges. The judge is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.
Crandell’s conviction is part of an initiative called “Operation Cash Back” in which 40 defendants—including many real estate professionals—were indicted and arrested in June 2008. To date, 30 have been convicted through guilty pleas or following trial.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Dominic Lanza, Raymond Woo and Kevin Rapp, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
For more information, visit phoenix.fbi.gov.

Closing FHA Loans in 5-7 business day! Always 24-48 hours on FHA Approve Eligible loans and Streamlines!