GREENBELT, MD—A federal jury today convicted Robert Dewain Venson, age 38, of Fort Washington, Maryland, for mail and wire fraud, money laundering and failing to file tax returns in connection with a three-year mortgage fraud scheme involving 13 residential properties.

The conviction 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; Assistant Director in Charge Shawn Henry of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Sparkman of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office; and Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel S. Cortez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service-Washington Division.

According to evidence presented at the two week trial, from 2004 to 2007 Venson negotiated the purchase of 13 residential properties in Maryland and the District of Columbia, including houses in Hyattsville, Ocean City, Fort Washington, and Salisbury, Maryland. Rather than purchase the properties in his own name, the evidence proved that Venson paid straw buyers to appear at the settlement posing as the buyer. Witnesses testified that Venson typically would represent to the straw buyer that he would pay the loan obligation. Venson inflated the price listed on the sales documents to an amount substantially larger than the actual price, causing the mortgage lender to provide funds for the purchase substantially in excess of the actual price. Venson misrepresented and concealed the true purchase price, his arrangement with the straw buyer and other material information from the mortgage lender. Under this scheme, the trial evidence showed that Venson reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Evidence showed that Venson failed to file individual federal income tax returns for 2004, 2005, and 2006, during the period of the scheme. Based on the mortgage fraud scheme, the indictment seeks forfeiture of property, including a money judgment of $892,371.

“The IRS-Criminal Investigation, in partnership with other law enforcement agencies, vigorously pursues individuals who commit crimes against our community and economy,” stated Rebecca Sparkman, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, Washington D.C. Field Office. “Convictions, like the one just returned against Robert Venson, send a loud and clear message that people who willfully defy the laws, including tax laws, will be fully investigated and prosecuted for their actions.”

Venson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the eight counts of mail fraud, each of the eight counts of wire fraud, and each of the seven counts of money laundering; and one year in prison for each of the three counts of failure to file tax returns. Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. ordered Venson detained pending his sentencing, scheduled for October 7, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.

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 mortgage fraud prosecutions is available http://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 commended Assistant United States Attorneys Michael R. Pauze and Robert Hur, who are prosecuting the case.

BOSTON—Following a seven-week trial, a federal jury found five defendants guilty of mortgage fraud stemming from a scheme that involved 21 properties in the Greater Boston area, 10 mortgage lenders, and more than $10.6 million in loan proceeds.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Robert Bethel, Postal Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Susan Dukes, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Division; Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino; and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, announced that ERIC L. LEVINE, 57, of Brookline; J. DANIEL LINDLEY, 62, of Jamaica Plain; ERNST APPOLON, 31, of Braintree; DANIEL APPOLON, 23, of Dorchester; and LATOYA HALTIWANGER, 28, of Los Angeles, were convicted of wire fraud and conspiring to commit wire fraud. LEVINE and LINDLEY were also convicted of money laundering.

“This type of greed and self-interest has directly contributed to the deterioration to many neighborhoods across the country,” said U.S. Attorney Ortiz. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners, are committed to ensuring that those in the real estate profession who exploit consumers for their own profit are exposed and brought to justice.”

Evidence at trial established that between May 2005 and June 2006, the defendants and others participated in a conspiracy to obtain $10.6 million in mortgage loan proceeds by fraud. Specifically, the scheme involved the use of inflated purchase prices and documents containing false statements about purchase price, borrower income, employment, or intent to reside in the property. The difference between purchase prices negotiated with sellers and inflated purchase prices submitted to lenders ranged from as little as $15,000 to as much as $255,000 on individual properties in South Boston, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Quincy, Hyde Park, and Cohasset, aggregating to more than $1.9 million. From this $1.9 million, the defendants and other co-conspirators pocketed more than $1.7 million in illegal proceeds. The mortgages on all of the properties were defaulted upon and nearly all went into foreclosure.

LEVINE, a suspended attorney, and LINDLEY, a practicing attorney, participated in the loan closing process and handled the money. ERNST APPOLON, a real estate broker, identified properties for the conspirators, negotiated purchase prices with sellers, and recruited people to lend their names and credit information (“straw” borrowers) to obtain mortgage loans for property purchases. HALTIWANGER, a mortgage broker, was the loan originator for three of the properties in the conspiracy and was the “straw” borrower for a separate property purchase. DANIEL APPOLON recruited two “straw” borrowers whose name and credit information were used to purchase three properties.

The defendants face up to 20 years’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine on each count of wire fraud. For the conspiracy, they face up to five years’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. On the money laundering counts, LEVINE and LINDLEY face up to 10 years’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

Co-defendants ANDRE JUNIOR LAMERIQUE, WIDNER LAMARRE, JERMAINE BLAKE, SAMUEL JEAN-LOUIS and JEAN NORISCAT pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and several counts of wire fraud. They each face a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine on each count of wire fraud. For the conspiracy, they face up to five years’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. NORISCAT also pled guilty to several counts of aggravated identity theft and faces a mandatory two years’ imprisonment for each of the identity theft counts in addition to any other sentence imposed.

The defendants have been scheduled for sentencing as follows: LAMARRE and BLAKE, September 14, 2010; JEAN-LOUIS, September 16, 2010; LAMERIQUE and NORISCAT, September 21, 2010; LEVINE and ERNST APPOLON, September 22, 2010; LINDLEY, September 23, 2010; and DANIEL APPOLON and HALTIWANGER, September 29, 2010.

Co-defendant RALPH APPOLON is scheduled for trial in February 2011.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Internal Revenue Service, with assistance from the Boston Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Victor A. Wild and Ryan M. DiSantis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit and Mary Murrane of Ortiz’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.

Mortgage fraud is a key focus of the Department of Justice who in November 2009 created the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force works 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.

Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office; Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and J. Thomas Cardwell, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announced the unsealing of an indictment against defendants Michael Samuda, 37, of Pembroke Pines and Weston, Monique Mitchell, 29, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and Sheldon Martin, 34, of Plantation. Both Mitchell and Martin appeared at the Federal Courthouse in West Palm Beach this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linnea Johnson. Samuda is scheduled to appear on April 21, 2010.

Michael Samuda, an attorney, was charged in one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, one count of substantive mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, four counts of substantive wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. and one count of making false statements on a HUD-1 Form, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. If convicted, Samuda faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison on each of the conspiracy and the false statement counts, up to 30 years on each count of mail fraud and wire fraud count, and up to five years in prison on the false statement count. Defendants Monique Mitchell and Sheldon Martin, a mortgage broker, are charged with one count of making false statements on a HUD-1 Form, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001, and face up to five years in prison on that count.

According to the indictment, Samuda operated a title escrow company called Attorney Title Center, in Pembroke Pines. In January 2008, Samuda’s company closed on the purchase of real estate at 4010 Bayview Drive in Fort Lauderdale. The indictment alleges that Samuda, along with his employee Mitchell and the seller Sheldon Martin engaged in a scheme to defraud Regions Bank, the mortgage lender, by preparing and submitting false closing documents, including a HUD-1 Settlement Statement Form on the $1,250,000 property sale.

Special Agent in Charge John V. Gillies stated, “The FBI views mortgage fraud as a significant crime problem. The mortgage lending and housing market have a considerable overall effect on the nation’s economy and combating mortgage fraud will remain a top priority for the FBI.”

Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Kay.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven.

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