MADISON, WI—Stephen P. Sinnott, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced the filing of informations charging five individuals with submitting false loan applications to banks and mortgage lenders to obtain home mortgages. Specifically, the informations charged:

1. Brian Bowling, 44, of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, with wire fraud;
2. Jason Khodadad, 29, of Madison, Wisconsin, with conspiracy to submit a false loan application;
3. Joseph Bowman, 59, of Black Earth, Wisconsin, with conspiracy to submit a false loan application;
4. Joshua Hughes, 28, of Madison, with conspiracy to submit a false loan application; and
5. Richard Hurkman, 62, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with conspiracy to submit a false loan application.

If convicted of wire fraud, Bowling faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. If convicted of conspiracy to submit a false loan application, Khodadad, Bowman, Hughes, and Hurkman each face five years in prison.

The informations charged that the defendants defrauded banks and mortgage lenders by submitting loan applications for home loans that, among other things, inflated the borrowers’ income amounts, exaggerated assets and understated liabilities, falsified employment information, misrepresented the source of downpayment funds, and omitted secondary financing information.

Hughes and Bowman pleaded guilty on Wednesday May 19, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Madison before Judge Barbara Crabb. Sentencing for Bowman is scheduled for July 22, 2010, at 1:20 p.m. Sentencing for Hughes is set for July 29, 2010, at 1:20 p.m.

Khodadad is scheduled to plead guilty on Tuesday May 25, 2010, at 1:40 p.m. Bowling is scheduled to plead guilty on Friday May 28, 2010, at 1:20 p.m. Hurkman’s plea hearing has not yet been set.

These cases are part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case has been assigned to members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Madison.

FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Office of Inspector General,
Office of Evaluations,
3501 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22226-3500
DATE: February 4, 2010

SUBJECT: The FDIC’s Loan Modification Program

This report presents the results of our evaluation of the FDIC’s Loan Modification Program (LMP). In 2008, the FDIC initiated a systematic and streamlined approach to loan modifications at IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB (lndyMac), in order to place borrowers into affordable, long-term mortgages while achieving an improved return for bankers and investors compared to the results of foreclosure. In February 2009, President Obama tasked the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) with program responsibility for developing and implementing uniform guidance for loan modifications across the mortgage industry based, in part, on the FDIC’s work at IndyMac. Since November 2008, the FD IC has required most purchasers of failed bank assets to implement the FDIC’s LMP, Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), or some other loan modification program acceptable to the FDIC.

BACKGROUND

In 2008, the FDIC developed the LMP after taking over as conservator for IndyMac to achieve improved value for the IndyMac Federal conservatorship by turning troubled loans into performing loans and, thereby, avoiding unnecessary and costly foreclosures. The FDIC LMP requires that a successful candidate for loan modification result in a (1) positive net present value (NPV) as opposed to a foreclosure option and (2) monthly payment representing no more than 31 percent of the borrower’s gross monthly income, known as the front-end debt-to-income ratio. The FDIC LMP utilizes a “waterfall” approach to reach the 31-percent ratio, by first lowering the borrower’s interest rate, then extending the term of the loan not to exceed 40 years, and finally forbearing principal to the end of the loan period. FDIC officials have noted that a critical characteristic of the FDIC LMP process is that it has to be straightforward and efficient in order to modify a large number of “at-risk” mortgages in a short period of time.

In February 2009, the Obama Administration announced The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, a $75 billion federal program designed to provide for a sweeping loan modification program targeted at borrowers who are at risk of foreclosure. The plan tasked Treasury with developing and implementing uniform guidance for the government’s loan modification efforts. Treasury announced its HAMP guidelines on March 4, 2009, which built on the work of Congressional leaders and the FDIC’s LMP. Treasury’s HAMP uses the FDIC LMP 31-percent “waterfall” process and the NPV test. However, HAMP also provides various incentive payments to the loan servicer and borrower for achieving sustainable loan modifications.

Under Treasury’s HAMP, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) serves as the financial agent and fulfills the role of administrator, record-keeper, and paying agent for the program. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) is the compliance agent for the program and is responsible for ensuring that participating servicers comply with Treasury’s guidelines.

As of August 2009, Treasury had signed Servicer Participation Agreements (SPA) with 38 servicers, who, along with 2,300 servicers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, account for more than 85 percent of the mortgage market.1 In an August 2009 report, Treasury stated that more than 230,000 trial modifications had started and that the program was on pace to help 3 to 4 million homeowners over the next 3 years.

STATESBORO, GA—BRIAN STEPTOE, 41, and NATASHA STEPTOE, 38, both from Emanuel County, Georgia, were sentenced yesterday in federal district court for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme that occurred in Swainsboro, Georgia.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who engage in financial crimes, especially crimes such as mortgage fraud, that affect the heartland of our country,” stated United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver.

Evidence presented during their guilty pleas revealed that the Steptoes, with the assistance of others, knowingly submitted a false loan application and other documentation to Bank of America with regard to a $400,000 home loan. The investigation revealed that the Steptoes’ scheme was to defraud Bank of America in order to pocket sizeable sums of money for themselves and others. The property went into foreclosure soon after it was sold and remains on the market to this day.

BRIAN STEPTOE was sentenced to fifty-four (54) months, $410,236.59 in restitution to be paid jointly and severally with his co-defendants, and five (5) years of supervised release. NATASHA STEPTOE was sentenced to twenty (20) months, $340,297.54 in restitution to be paid jointly and severally with her co-defendants, and three (3) years of supervised release.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

U.S. Attorney Tarver recognized the extensive efforts of the FBI in bringing this criminal activity to light, and particularly praised the efforts of Statesboro FBI Special Agent Cornelius Harris, who investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Natalie Lee and Frederick Kramer prosecuted this case. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.

HUNTSVILLE—A 56-year-old Rainbow City woman pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to charges of bank and mortgage fraud that totaled more than $500,000, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick Maley announced.

ROXANNE SAUNDERS GILLILAND entered guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge C. Lynwood Smith, Jr., to one count of making false statements on a mortgage loan application and three counts of bank fraud. She agreed to forfeit $577,796 to the government as proceeds of illegal activity.

According to GILLILAND’s plea agreement and other court documents, GILLILAND was an employee of Dawson Construction Company in Gadsden and, between March 2005 and October 2008, fraudulently withdrew the $577,796 from personal and business accounts connected to the company. Also, in April 2007, GILLILAND submitted a personal home mortgage application in which she claimed a business account of Dawson Construction as a personal asset in order to obtain a mortgage loan she would have been otherwise ineligible to receive.

“Any individual who commits both bank and mortgage fraud becomes a serious threat to our community. This defendant’s criminal fraud struck at both our local businesses and financial community. It is our mission to deal with these individuals swiftly and decisively in order to deter others from committing similar crimes,” Vance said.

The maximum sentence for counts one through four is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Special agents of the FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney is prosecuting for the government.

Three members of a mortgage fraud scheme, including a title agent and a mortgage broker, were arrested today on a criminal Complaint charging them with conspiring to commit wire fraud, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today in the attached Press Release.

Ania Nowak, 43, Zbigniew Cichy, 41, both of Belvidere, New Jersey, and Kim Salvemini, 55, of Wallington, New Jersey were arrested this morning by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”). The defendants are charged by Complaint with conspiring to defraud various mortgage lenders of over $2.7 million by conducting at least five fraudulent real estate transactions involving two residential properties in New Jersey. An initial appearance for all three defendants is scheduled before United States Magistrate Judge Esther Salas today at 2:00 p.m. in Newark.

According to the Complaint unsealed today in Newark federal court:

Nowak owned a real estate title company, A.N. Title Agency, LLC, and acted as the title and settlement agent at real estate closings. In that role, Nowak was responsible for, among other things: ensuring that the seller or the borrower in a refinancing transaction actually owned the home that was being used to secure a mortgage loan; paying off any prior mortgages before paying any money to the borrower; and recording certain mortgage documents with the county clerk. Instead of fulfilling these responsibilities in the five transactions described in the Complaint, Nowak allegedly used her position to perpetrate the fraud along with her coconspirators.

From November 2005 to December 2007, in furtherance of their scheme, Nowak and Cichy employed numerous fraudulent techniques – including allowing Cichy to apply and obtain a loan on a property he did not own, failing to pay off prior mortgages with new money lent by lenders, and failing to record mortgage documents with the county clerk. Nowak and Cichy also recruited Salvemini, a mortgage broker, to serve as a straw buyer to purportedly purchase a property that Cichy owned. The transaction was made so Salvemini could apply for fraudulent mortgage loans which Nowak and Cichy then stole. Cichy paid Salvemini approximately $17,500 for his role in the fraud as a straw buyer and in obtaining fraudulent loans.

In total, Nowak and Cichy spent over $1 million of the fraudulent loans they obtained to support Cichy’s construction business and to pay for various personal expenses. Those expenses -2- included a Mercedes Benz and other automobiles, multiple trips to Aruba, a trip to Poland, furniture, clothing, and purchases from QVC and the Home Shopping Network.

The wire fraud conspiracy count with which each of the defendants is charged carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum $1 million fine. In determining an actual sentence, the judge to whom the case is eventually assigned would, upon a conviction, consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the individual defendant’s criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

Fishman credited the Special Agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in charge Michael B. Ward, with the investigation leading to the criminal Complaint. Fishman also thanked Stewart Title for their assistance in the investigation.

The Government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew E. Beck of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

Pretty bizarre given all that has happened in the global economy over the past few years, but sadly it’s true.

Media set out to find examples of scammers doing jail time here in Massachusetts for mortgage fraud given the explosion in foreclosures, especially in poor neighborhoods across the state.

Instead, they came back pretty much empty handed and for a reason that floored us all. Mortgage fraud is not a criminal offense here in the Bay State, accordingly to Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Given that mortgage fraud is considered a civil but not a criminal offense in Massachusetts, Coakley has had her hands tied behind her back when it comes to going after some of the scammers. While mortgage fraud is a crime under federal law, there are many cases in this very local kind of abuse that should not or can’t be pursued by the feds.

Take a look at this issue – which has pretty much gone largely unreported until now – in a weekly column for Banker & Tradesman.

There’s no doubt we saw an orgy of mortgage fraud, both during the bubble years and even after the market began to collapse.

Small time speculators wreaked a trail of foreclosures in poor neighborhoods from Boston to Springfield. The schemes were brazen and simple: Flip three barely rehabbed condos in a Dorchester triple-decker to straw buyers for $350,000 or so each, get no doc loans from some brainless subprime mortgage factory, and walk away with a million bucks.

Nine months later, all three units would be foreclosed on and sold at auction back to their lenders, ready to be bought by another group of fraudsters.

It really does not seem much different than walking into a bank with a gun and demanding money.

WASHINGTON – Representatives of President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force will host the latest of a Mortgage Fraud Summit on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 in LOS ANGELES. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is holding another summit Wednesday in Fresno, and it has previously hosted mortgage fraud summits in Miami, Phoenix and Detroit.

In the morning session, task force members will meet with the general public, legal services providers and banking, mortgage and real estate industry representatives to discuss trends in the region and the effect of mortgage fraud on the community. Following the public portion of the meeting, the task force members will hold a press conference to discuss the work of the task force to combat mortgage fraud. In the afternoon, the task force members will meet privately with law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of mortgage fraud.

Participating in the summits will be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Tony West, United States Attorney André Birotte Jr., Chief of the FBI’s Financial Crimes Section Sharon Ormsby, Deputy Inspector General at the Department of Housing and Urban Development Michael Stephens and Executive Director of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Robb Adkins. Additionally, representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, the California Department of Justice and local police agencies will participate in the summits.

PREET BHAHARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILLIAM B. FOSTER, the former owner, President, and CEO of Cobalt Financial, Inc., was sentenced today to three years in prison on charges stemming from a fraud that raised more than $23 million from over 250 investors in private placement real estate offerings. FOSTER was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge KIMBA M. WOOD, who presided over the three-week jury trial at which FOSTER, along with co-defendants MARK ALAN SHAPIRO and IRVING STITSKY, were found guilty.

According to the superseding indictment, the evidence at trial, and statements made at the sentencing proceeding:

Beginning in late 2003, FOSTER, STITSKY, and SHAPIRO founded a group of companies that operated under the name “Cobalt,” which purportedly engaged in the acquisition and development of multi-family real estate properties throughout the United States. Through the Cobalt entities, FOSTER, STITSKY, and SHAPIRO fraudulently induced victims to invest by, among other things, (a) misrepresenting Cobalt’s operating history; (b) failing to inform prospective investors that Cobalt was owned and controlled by STITSKY and SHAPIRO, both convicted felons; and (c) misrepresenting and causing others to misrepresent Cobalt’s purported ownership interests in certain properties to prospective investors. In fact, Cobalt was a new company with little or no record of real estate investment success, was managed and controlled by STITSKY and SHAPIRO, and did not own several of the properties that it claimed to own.

In order to carry out their scheme, FOSTER, STITSKY, and SHAPIRO established Cobalt’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts, and a telemarketing center in Great Neck, New York. FOSTER, who worked out of Cobalt’s Massachusetts office, was identified in the Cobalt marketing materials as the individual responsible for overseeing all aspects of the operations of all of the Cobalt entities.

The defendants and their employees solicited funds from investors by making false and misleading oral and written representations about the investment for which the investors’ funds were solicited, including false representations about: (i) the identities and relevant background information about the individuals controlling the Cobalt entities; (ii) the identities of Cobalt’s business partners; (iii) the properties that Cobalt owned; (iv) the properties in which investor funds were to be invested; (v) the history of the Cobalt entities; (vi) the amount of management fees to be taken by Cobalt entities from the investor funds; (vii) the uses of the management fees taken by Cobalt entities from the investor funds; and (viii) SHAPIRO’s educational background. FOSTER, STITSKY, and SHAPIRO then caused millions of dollars of investors’ funds to be transferred to accounts for the defendants’ personal benefit.

In addition to the prison term, Judge WOOD sentenced FOSTER, 70, of East Hampton, Massachusetts, to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $22 million in restitution and to forfeit $23 million in proceeds from his offenses.

IRVING STITSKY, 55, of Milan, New York, was sentenced to 85 years in prison on July 6, 2010. SHAPIRO, 50, of Avon, Connecticut, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 14, 2010.

During the sentencing proceeding, Judge WOOD stated: “It is a very serious, egregious scheme that defrauded hundreds of people of their hard-earned money. Some people in fact face financial ruin.” Of Foster’s role, Judge Wood said, “Mr. Foster was in a position of trust with respect to the investors and it is a position of trust that he abused.”

Mr. BHAHARA praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this case.

This case was brought in coordination with President BARACK OBAMA’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which Mr. BHARARA serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. President OBAMA established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney MARC P. BERGER is in charge of the prosecution.

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven has returned a second superseding indictment charging a total of 10 individuals with various offenses related to their alleged participation in a mortgage fraud conspiracy. Six defendants, including Syed A. Babar of New London, have been charged previously with various mortgage fraud offenses stemming from the alleged scheme. The second superseding indictment charges four additional defendants, MARSHALL ASMAR, 40, of Joanne Drive, Milford; WENDY WERNER, 45, of Sarasota, Florida; REHAN QAMER, 38, formerly of Ashtabula, Ohio, and MOHAMMAD SALEEM, 39, formerly of Flushing, New York.

The indictment alleges that, between August 2006 and May 2010, Syed A. Babar, also known as “Ali” and “Asad,” 28, of New London, was the de facto leader and organizer of a conspiracy to obtain millions of dollars in residential real estate loans, including loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, through the use of sham sales contracts, false loan applications and fraudulent property appraisals. The indictment alleges that ASMAR and WERNER entered into sales contracts with straw purchasers to sell homes for a price higher than the actual price that ASMAR and WERNER, as the sellers, would receive. Members of the conspiracy—which included a mortgage broker, two attorneys and a real estate appraiser—submitted false documentation in connection with loan applications that were submitted, including fraudulent appraisals of the properties being purchased in order to justify the inflated sales price and the loan amount being sought to fund each purchase. The indictment further alleges that members of the conspiracy created a fictitious construction company called “Sheda Telle Construction, LLC,” in order to divert fraud proceeds to it and, in some cases, to falsely justify the artificially inflated sales price of houses based on renovations purportedly made to the property that, in fact, did not occur. The co-conspirators then split the fraud proceeds.

It is alleged that, in August 2006, WERNER, through her company, Marbo Restorations, LLC, sold three houses on Lake Street in Norwich to QAMER, a straw purchaser working with Babar. The fraudulently inflated sales prices for 35, 37, and 41 Lake Street were $260,000, $270,000, and $270,000, respectively, and QAMER obtained residential real estate loans to purchase homes for those amounts. WERNER provided Babar with approximately $283,000 of the proceeds generated from the sale of the three houses. Babar then wrote 10 checks totaling approximately $179,000 to QAMER.

SALEEM also is alleged to have served as a straw purchaser during the conspiracy. Babar is alleged to have recruited and paid straw purchasers up to $20,000 to nominally purchase homes.

Contrary to the representations made on the loan applications, it is alleged that the straw purchasers never occupied the houses as their primary residences, failed to make payments on the loans and the properties went into foreclosure, including the three Lake Street properties that QAMER purchased from WERNER.

The alleged mortgage fraud scheme involved approximately 35 properties and loans obtained in the amount of approximately $10 million. Current losses from the scheme are estimated to be at least $2.5 million.

The indictment charges ASMAR, WERNER, QAMER, and SALEEM with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. ASMAR and WERNER also are charged with eight counts of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count. The indictment also charges ASMAR with four counts of making false statements, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on each count. Finally, the indictment charges WERNER and QAMER with one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

The second superseding indictment was returned on July 29, 2010, and unsealed on September 15. ASMAR was arrested on August 20. He entered a plea of not guilty to the charges and is released on a bond in the amount of $250,000, fully secured by real property. WERNER was arrested in Florida on September 10. On September 21, she appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. She is released on a bond in the amount of $85,000, fully secured by real property.

QAMER and SALEEM are currently being sought by law enforcement.

U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. Attorney Fein stated that the investigation is ongoing.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric J. Glover and Susan Wines.

In July 2009, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the formation of the Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force to investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud cases and related financial crimes occurring in Connecticut. In addition to investigating past mortgage fraud schemes, the Task Force will focus on emerging crime trends that are associated with the growing tide of foreclosures, including foreclosure rescue schemes, and short sale schemes. Citizens are encouraged to report any suspected mortgage fraud activity by calling 203-333-3512 and requesting the Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force, or by sending an email to ctmortgagefraud@ic.fbi.gov.

The Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force includes representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General; and State of Connecticut Department of Banking.

To report financial fraud crimes, and to learn more about the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov.

Hartford – Jane Soulliere, 44, of Norwich, pleaded guilty Wednesday before United States District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, stemming from a mortgage fraud scheme based in southeastern Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Soulliere was a member of the mortgage fraud conspiracy headed by Jose Guzman and others. Soulliere was paid a total of approximately $28,000 for participating in this conspiracy. However, her fraudulent conduct caused a loss of more than $1 million to lending institutions, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Soulliere is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 22, at which time she faces a maximum prison term of 20 years. To date, six people involved in the scheme have pleaded guilty. On Sept. 9, 2008, Guzman plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He awaits sentencing.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Michael S. McGarry.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Jorge Cidar Mendez Chavez, 42, of Ashburn, Va., was sentenced today to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Chavez was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,688,400.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Liam O’Grady. Chavez pled guilty on Jan. 8, 2010.
According to court documents, Chavez, a real estate agent, served an important role in a mortgage fraud conspiracy, which continued for approximately 18 months from the summer of 2007 through the end of 2008, involved at least seven properties and fraudulent loans of almost $6 million. Chavez helped straw buyers provide false information to federally-insured financial institutions and private commercial lenders. The false information included false employment, salary and asset information. Chavez created, maintained or controlled two businesses—Intellitech-US and Cercig, Inc.—to corroborate the false information. Chavez also worked with Fidelino Ferrufino, an individual who recruited straw buyers in an unrelated conspiracy. Mr. Ferrufino was convicted after a three week trial in August 2010. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2010.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Charles Connolly and Marla Tusk prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton has announced that Robert Policastro has been sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud (mortgage fraud). The court also entered a monetary judgment in the amount of $9,082,394.20, the proceeds of the mortgage fraud conspiracy. Policastro had pleaded guilty on May 17, 2010.

According to court documents, Policastro, who was an architect, conspired with a Florida licensed title agent to commit mortgage fraud. Policastro took out primary loans to buy several million-dollar properties in Miami, and then, without the knowledge of the primary lender, obtained a “silent second” loan on each property. The “silent seconds” financed Policastro’s downpayments for the properties and allowed him secretly to take money out of the deals. To hide the “silent seconds,” the title agent prepared false, “dueling” HUD-1s to send to both the primary and the “silent second” lenders so that each was unaware that Policastro had obtained two loans on each property. The loans were closed in Pinellas County.

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas N. Palermo.

This case is a part of the Middle District of Florida’s Mortgage Fraud Initiative, a joint effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies throughout the Middle District of Florida. It is a “Phase II” case, brought following the initial wave of Mortgage Fraud Initiative prosecutions, the Mortgage Fraud Surge, which occurred over ten months in 2009 and netted more than 100 defendants. Phase II of the Mortgage Fraud Initiative seeks to build upon the Surge, expanding upon surge leads and techniques to uncover and prosecute increasingly complex mortgage frauds.

GREENBELT, MD—A federal grand jury has indicted Darryl Stanley Paxton, Jr., a/k/a David Sosa, age 34, of Broward County, Florida, formerly of Maryland, on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and fraudulent use of a Social Security number in connection with a scheme to defraud lenders of over $1.8 million, using a false identity. The indictment was returned on July 14, 2010 and unsealed today upon the arrest of the defendant in Broward County, Florida, on state charges there.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division.

According to the 15-count indictment, between 1997 and 2007 Paxton utilized the identification, including the Social Security numbers of a man and woman, both of whom had the initials DEB. During that period of time, Paxton began to use the fictitious identity, David Sosa, creating or obtaining a fraudulent Virginia driver’s license purportedly issued on May 12, 1999, in the name of David Sosa. Paxton also created or obtained Georgia and District of Columbia driver’s licenses in the name of David Sosa and on June 23, 2003, was issued a Maryland driver’s license in that name.

The indictment alleges that from September 2005 through August 2007, Sosa obtained over $1.8 million in loans from four lenders by submitting fraudulent loan applications, including a fictitious name, a misappropriated Social Security number, false information about his employment, income, address and ownership of real estate. According to the indictment, Paxton utilized a portion of the loan proceeds to repay part of the previous loans, but left most of the loans substantially unpaid.

For example, by submitting a fraudulent loan application, Paxton allegedly obtained a loan for $620,000 to purchase a property in Cockeysville, Maryland, then repaid that loan with the proceeds of a $1.4 million loan and a $420,000 loan he fraudulently obtained from another lender to refinance that property. The indictment alleges that Paxton then defaulted on those loans, causing a loss to the lender of $900,000.

The indictment alleges that through this scheme, Paxton fraudulently obtained over $2.85 million in loans and caused losses to the lenders of over $1.8 million, which is the amount the government seeks to forfeit.

The indictment further alleges that Paxton used the proceeds of the loans for his personal benefit, including the purchase of a Lamborghini and other luxury automobiles, as well as purchases at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, The Plastic Surgery Center, the Big Screen Store, and others.

Paxton faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for wire fraud; a maximum of five years in prison for fraudulent use of a Social Security number; and a maximum of 10 years in prison on each of five counts of money laundering. Paxton is detained on state charges in Florida pending his transfer to U.S. District Court.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.;

The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate mortgage fraud and promote the early detection, identification, prevention, and prosecution of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and promote the integrity of the credit markets. Information about mortgage fraud prosecutions is available at www.justice.gov/usao/md/Mortgage-Fraud/index.html.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Mara B. Zusman, who is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON, MA—A Massachusetts attorney, Michael R. Anderson, 41, of Framingham, was charged today in federal court with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering in connection with a multi-year, multi-property mortgage fraud scheme in Dorchester and Roxbury. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation – Boston Field Division, announced today that the defendant was charged in an Information with 16 counts of wire fraud, nine counts of bank fraud, and two counts of money laundering.

The Information alleges that from September 2006 to April 2008, Anderson committed fraud in connection with the purported sale of some 27 condominium units in Boston. A developer, Michael David Scott, who was charged separately in an indictment on August 26,2010, and his associates bought multi-family dwellings promising to convert them into condominiums, and then resold the individual units to various straw buyers. Scott, Anderson and others arranged for the straw buyers to obtain mortgage financing by falsifying key information,such as the buyers’ intent to reside in properties, assets, down payment, and/or funds paid at closing. The defendant and others arranged to prepare loan closing documents which the defendant used to facilitate the closings.

The Information further alleges that Anderson caused mortgage loan proceeds to be disbursed to Scott. In most instances, the straw buyers obtained residential mortgage loans for properties that they never intended to live in. While the lenders (mortgage companies and one bank) were led to believe they were lending to residential purchasers who had made substantial down payments, the developer and others recruited buyers by representing the purchases to them as a no-money-down “investment” opportunity. The “investors” were assured that they would not have to make any down payments, pay any closing costs, or pay expenses relating to the maintenance of the units, but would share in profits when the units were sold.

If Anderson is convicted on these charges, each count of bank fraud carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison to be followed by up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million; each wire fraud count carries imprisonment up to 20 years to be followed by up to three years of supervised release and up to a $250,000 fine; the money laundering counts each carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison to be followed by up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Victor A. Wild and Ryan M. DiSantis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the Information are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

GIUSEPPE CRACCHIOLO, 60, of Romeo, Michigan, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman this morning to a federal information that charges him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today. Also charged in the one count information was ATIIM COLLINS, 38, of Detroit, Michigan, and TED CARTER, 59, of Detroit, Michigan, both of whom have already pleaded guilty to the same information.

McQuade was joined in the announcement by Maurice Aouate, Special Agent-In-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; Andrew Arena, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit; Robert L. Davila, Special Agent in Charge U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; and Dean Tirro, Acting Special Agent in Charge United States Secret Service, Detroit.

From 2002 through 2005, Collins, owner of Edgewood Property Management in Shelby Township, Michigan, recruited and paid individuals to act as straw buyers in fraudulent mortgage loan transactions. The scheme to defraud involved homes built by CRACCHIOLO, through his company, Mark Christian, Inc (MCI), in Romeo, Michigan. The straw buyers generally had good credit ratings, but not enough income, and lacked the qualifications necessary to purchase the properties. CARTER participated in the conspiracy by creating false documents, including fictitious W-2 forms and pay stubs, used by the straw buyers to support the fraudulently inflated asset and income information submitted on their mortgage loan applications. After the loans were approved by the lending companies, CRACCHIOLO used MCI to receive and disburse the illegally gained proceeds. This scheme to defraud resulted in the approval and disbursement of over $4.1 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.

CRACCHIOLO admitted that during the conspiracy, he arranged to have the illegally obtained loan proceeds transferred back to borrowers and others without the knowledge and approval of the lending companies. All of the properties involved in the fraud went into foreclosure resulting in approximately $2.5 million in losses to the lenders.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and $250,000 in fines.

Sentencing is scheduled as follows in front of United States District Court Judge Paul D. Borman: CARTER on October 6, 2010 at 3:00 p.m., COLLINS on November 11, 2010 at 2:00 p.m., and CRACCHIOLO on December 2, 2010 at 3:00 p.m..

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Reynolds.

A Macomb County homebuilder pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the Departments of Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security reported Friday.

Romeo resident Giuseppe Cracchiolo, 60, entered his plea before U.S. District Court Judge Paul D. Borman Friday morning. Codefendants Atiim Collins, 38, and Ted Carter, 59, both of Detroit, pleaded guilty to the same charge earlier this year. Conspiracy to commit wire fraud is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Court documents show that, from 2002 through 2005, Edgewood Property Management owner Collins recruited and paid individuals to act as straw buyers in fraudulent mortgage loan transactions involving homes built by Cracchiolo. Carter participated in the conspiracy by creating false documents used by the straw buyers to support fraudulently inflated asset and income information on their mortgage loan applications.

After the lending companies approved the loans, Cracchiolo used his building company, Mark Christian, Inc., to receive and disburse the illegally gained proceeds. The scheme to defraud resulted in the approval and disbursement of over $4.1 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.

Cracchiolo admitted that he arranged to have the illegally obtained loan proceeds transferred back to borrowers and others without the knowledge and approval of the lending companies. All of the properties involved in the fraud went into foreclosure, resulting in approximately $2.5 million in losses to the lenders.

Judge Borman will sentence Carter on October 6, Collins on November 11, and Cracchiolo on December 2, 2010.

By Margaret Agius

Ronald O’Malley, the former chairman of Bergen County’s public financing wing and the CEO of a New Jersey private mortgage brokerage firm, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on 68 counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.

The 53-page indictment alleges that O’Malley used his position as chairman of the Bergen County Improvement Authority to falsify employment records and other documents to secure loans for clients who used his brokerage firm.

O’Malley’s firm, the Ridgewood-based Residential Mortgage Corp., collected clients’ fees based on the loans, according to the indictment.

News of O’Malley’s role in the alleged scam first became public in July, when his partner in the firm, Edward Olimpio, said in court that O’Malley signed verification forms for borrowers that falsely claimed the borrowers were being paid substantial salaries by the BCIA.

The indictment released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office late Tuesday afternoon shed more light on the scheme.

It alleges the following:

• O’Malley falsified a client’s verification of deposit records, using his and his mother’s joint bank account number on a client’s mortgage form.

• As chairman of the BCIA, O’Malley claimed that private clients with Residential Mortgage Corp. were employed by the improvement authority when, in fact, they were not.

• O’Malley falsely stated that a client had a balance of more than $50,000 with the “Bergen County Improvement Authority Credit Union Account” when such a credit union did not exist.

• BCIA staffers falsely confirmed to lenders at the behest of O’Malley that Residential Mortgage clients were agency employees.

• When confronted by American Partners Bank, a mortgage lender, about two of the loans, O’Malley said asset information had been falsified by an employee who had been terminated for substance abuse issues.

O’Malley did not return a request for comment, and his attorney, Brian Neary, declined to answer questions Tuesday.

Also named in the indictment is Laura-Jean Arvelo, who is accused of several counts apiece of wire, bank and loan-application fraud. Arvelo’s attorney, Joseph P. Rem Jr., said his client is innocent.

“Follow the money,” he said. “You find one penny that went to my client, then God bless you. … If she didn’t get any money, why would she engage in a criminal conspiracy? Don’t conspirators share in the profits? She was not involved in a criminal conspiracy.”

O’Malley’s indictment sparked renewed criticism of the BCIA and demands for a state investigation of the agency, which has accumulated about $450 million in debt during the past 10 years.

“I have always felt they are one of the shadow governments out of the public scrutiny,” said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, a longtime critic of the BCIA.

Weinberg said she now wants to know whether any remaining BCIA staff were involved in fraud.

“I would assume that county authorities would immediately take a look to see if that’s so,” she said.

Republican County Freeholder Robert Hermansen called for an independent audit of the BCIA. Freeholder John Driscoll, also a Republican, said he would call on Governor Christie to initiate a state investigation.

Hermansen also questioned the judgment of Democratic County Executive Dennis McNerney, who appointed O’Malley as BCIA chairman in 2004.

“It’s a lapse in judgment,” Hermansen said. “Dennis needs to answer for what’s gone on here.”

McNerney said in a written statement released Tuesday night that “if any employees of the Bergen County Improvement Authority were remotely involved in inappropriate or illegal actions, they will be terminated and immediately referred to the appropriate authorities.”

McNerney appointed former Superior Court Judge Douglas K. Wolfson last month to investigate allegations that O’Malley participated in the scam just days after O’Malley resigned from his BCIA post. McNerney described the review as “ongoing” in his press release, but declined to answer specific questions about the indictment.

O’Malley also held a public post with the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority as a commissioner. That title carries a $5,000 annual salary and a state pension.

According to McNerney’s spokesman, Brian Hague, O’Malley resigned from that post Tuesday.

A former mortgage broker who helped orchestrate a massive mortgage fraud scheme that caused well over $40 million in losses was sentenced today to 78 months in federal prison.

Mark Alan Abrams, 49, of downtown Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson. In addition to the prison term, Judge Pregerson ordered Abrams to pay more than $41 million in restitution to two federally insured banks.

In issuing the sentence, Judge Pregerson said it was important to hold fraud artists “accountable for great misdeeds.” The court noted that Abrams’ willingness to defraud banks, utilize credit information belonging to unknowing victims and induce underlings to participate in the scheme was “particularly evil.”

Abrams’ sentencing followed his guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and loan fraud, bank fraud, making a false statement on a tax return and obstruction of justice. Abrams was one of two men who led a massive mortgage fraud that involved properties across California. In addition to being a leader of the scheme, Abrams engaged in active efforts to cover up his role and destroy evidence when the fraud started to come to light. Abrams’ obstruction in a related civil case was so serious that a Judge Pregerson found him in contempt of court and put him in jail for 30 days.

A real estate developer, Charles Elliott Fitzgerald, who along with Abrams ran the fraud scheme, was previously sentenced to 14 years in federal prison (see: http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/pr2008/136.html).

Abrams and Fitzgerald ran a wide-ranging and sophisticated scheme that obtained inflated mortgage loans on homes in some of California’s most expensive neighborhoods, including Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Malibu, Carmel, Mill Valley, Pebble Beach and La Jolla. Members of the conspiracy – real estate brokers, appraisers and mortgage bankers, who all shared in the profits from the fraudulent sales – sent false documentation, including bogus purchase contracts and appraisals, to the victim banks to deceive them into funding mortgage loans that were hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the homes actually cost. Lehman Brothers Bank alone was deceived into funding more than 80 such inflated loans from 2000 into 2003, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in losses.

A total of 11 real estate professionals have been convicted of federal charges related to the scheme.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

By Moe Bedard

SALT LAKE CITY—A 10-count federal indictment unsealed Thursday charges Christopher D. Hales, age 29, of Midvale, with mail, wire, and bank fraud and with money laundering in connection with an alleged mortgage fraud scheme. The indictment involves two properties, one in Lindon and one in Salt Lake City.

The indictment alleges Hales and other unindicted co-conspirators executed a scheme to produce income from false appraisals to artificially inflate the purchase price of the residences. Hales arranged to purchase the homes through straw buyers and took the false equity proceeds stemming from those sales for himself, the straw buyers, and the co-conspirators.

For the Lindon property, the indictment alleges that Hales arranged for a false lien to be attached, ostensibly to renovate the house to the increased value pre-determined by Hales. Hales then arranged to obtain a loan that was approximately $194,000 more than the house was worth based on the false lien.

For the Salt Lake City property, the indictment alleges Hales and his co-conspirators arranged first for the house to be appraised at more than $250,000 than its market value, obtained a loan relying on that false appraisal and distributed the alleged fraudulent proceeds among themselves. Approximately 10 months later, Hales and other co-conspirators arranged for the house to be purchased by a straw buyer with another false appraisal that reset the house’s value at an additional $250,000 above the previous fraudulent price. According to the indictment, those proceeds were again then distributed among Hales and his co-conspirators.

For both properties, Hales used false appraisal values, false income statements, and false claims of renovations to the properties to obtain the inflated loans, the indictment alleges.

This specific investigation, which is ongoing, is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, as a part of the Utah Mortgage Fraud Task Force.

Individuals who believe they have information about financial fraud crimes related to this investigation and/or Mr. Hales can contact Special Agent Dave Smith with HUD-OIG at 801-524-6092.

Hales was arrested on a federal warrant Thursday. He had an initial appearance in federal court Thursday afternoon. A detention hearing is set for Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Brooke Wells. The potential maximum penalty for each wire and mail fraud count (two counts of each) is 20 years in prison. The potential maximum penalty for the four bank fraud counts is 30 years per count. The potential maximum penalty for the two money laundering counts in the indictment is 10 years per count.

Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Aaron V. Hernandez, 41, of McLean, Va., was sentenced today to 63 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for running a mortgage fraud scheme that caused more than $4.5 million in losses. Hernandez was ordered to pay more than $4.5 million in restitution and was ordered to forfeit approximately $2.4 million.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; and Daniel S. Cortez, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

On May 21, 2010, Hernandez pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud. According to court documents, Hernandez was employed by a company in Woodbridge, Va., during 2006 and learned from its employees how to falsify the loan applications of prospective purchasers of vacant, sub-divided lots in North Carolina and South Carolina. The fraud included providing fake employment information and inflating buyers’ income levels, value of the real estate that they owned, or other liquid assets purportedly held by the applicants.

In December 2006, Hernandez struck out on his own and formed mortgage companies in Northern Virginia, using the same fraudulent practices he learned from his previous employer. His businesses grew to more than 10 employees, at least three of whom he conspired with to provide false and fraudulent loan applications to lenders.

Court documents list at least 14 properties that Hernandez financed through these fraudulent practices, all of which eventually resulted in foreclosure. The financial loss suffered totaled more than $4.5 million.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark D. Lytle and Inayat Delawala prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.