This Thursday a mortgage broker from San Antonio, TX pleaded guilty money laundering in a fifty-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. We here at Loansafe.org report about mortgage fraud and real estate scams almost daily as the cases keep rounding up. The FBI, the Justice Department, state AGs, and the mortgage fraud task force have been doing an excellent job putting an end to these unscrupulous practices around the nation.

Ledale Lashette Coles, 36, signed a plea deal back in 2008 to the scheme, and this Thursday plead guilty before Judge John Primomo. Coles ran a company called Supreme Mortgage Group LLC that was used as just one of the entities involved in this massive mortgage fraud scheme. The scam was primarily blamed first on Robert Brooks from Dallas, TX.

Brooks, among his wife, Cheryl, are two out of 22 people that were indicted back in June for their part in the scheme. Each defendant in San Antonio took part in the “flipping” scam that caused over fifty-million dollars in loans to go into default.

Back on June 17th, the Justice department, the FBI, and the IRS named this investigation “Operation Stolen Dreams.”
In the indictment it stated that from May 17, 2005, through February 21, 2008, Robert purchased properties that were priced at the current market value, and later used “straw buyers” to buy the homes at inflated prices. It’s said he offered each straw buyer between $10-25k.

Other defendants include lawyer Richard Howard, former Sheriff’s Deputy George Autobee, a real estate agent out of San Antonio, mortgage processors, and escrow and title officers. It took quite a few individuals to orchestrate a scheme this large.

Brooks managed to get mortgages for the straw buyers using false information and then a year or so later let the properties go into default. According to additional indictment charges, Brook’s scheme could not be completed without assistance from other people in the mortgage industry, including appraisers, title officers, escrow officers, and mortgage processors who helped submit all of the false documentation and information to the banks.

Additional records show that Coles helped with more than a million dollars in fraudulent loans. Coles is now is facing up to 10 years in prison and is to be sentenced December 1 before US District Xavier Rodriguez.

By Evan Bedard on October 1, 2010 www.Loan-Safe.org
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Suspects may find themselves behind bars living rent free thanks to nationwide mortgage fraud arrests.

Members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force released the results of a nationwide dragnet, “Operation Stolen Dreams,” which targeted mortgage fraudsters throughout the country and is the largest collective enforcement effort ever brought to bear in confronting mortgage fraud. The White Collar Crime Committee of the National Association of Chiefs of Police obtained relevant documents describing this enormous operation.

The sweep was organized by President Barack Obama’s interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which was established “to lead an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.”

Starting on March 1 through June 17, Operation Stolen Dreams has involved 1,215 criminal defendants nationwide, including 485 arrests, who are allegedly responsible for more than $2.3 billion in losses. Additionally, to date the operation has resulted in 191 civil enforcement actions, which have resulted in the recovery of more than $147 million, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“From home buyers to lenders, mortgage fraud has had a resounding impact on the nation’s economy,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. “Those who prey on the housing market should know that hundreds of FBI agents on task forces and their law enforcement partners are tracking down your schemes and you will be brought to justice.”

Unlike previous mortgage fraud sweeps, Operation Stolen Dreams focused not only on federal criminal cases, but also on civil enforcement, recovering money for victims and increasing cooperation with state and local partners.

The operation was conducted in conjunction with the Department of Justice — including the FBI, U.S. Attorneys Offices, the U.S. Trustee Program, and other components — as well as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Trade Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the National Association of Attorneys General, and the National District Attorneys Association.

The President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement 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, according to officials.

MORTGAGE FRAUD REPORT

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2009 Mortgage Fraud Report, released today, mortgage fraud suspicious activity reports referred to law enforcement increased 5 percent to 67,190 during fiscal year 2009.

It’s estimated that $14 billion in fraudulent loans originated in 2009. The total dollar loss attributed to mortgage fraud is unknown.

Other key findings presented in the report include:

There are more than 2.8 million properties with foreclosure filings, a 120 percent increase from 2007 to 2009. The Las Vegas area reported the most significant rate of foreclosures, with more than 12 percent of housing units there receiving a foreclosure notice.

The top 10 states ranked by the number of foreclosure filings per housing unit were California, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, and New Jersey. In April 2010, one in every 386 housing units received a foreclosure filing.

Prevalent mortgage fraud schemes in fiscal year 2009 include loan origination, foreclosure rescue, builder bailout, equity skimming, short sale, illegal property flipping, reverse mortgage fraud and loan modifications. Emerging trends include fraud involving economic stimulus plans/programs, property theft/fraudulent leasing of foreclosed properties and tax-related fraud.