Officials Charge Fugitive Who Operated Illegal Foreclosure Scam

Federal officials announced Monday that a federal fugitive of 12 years was charged with identity theft and fraud after operating an illegal foreclosure-rescue scheme.

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The ""Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program"":http://www.sigtarp.gov/Pages/home.aspx (SIGTARP) and André Birotte Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, jointly announced Glen Alan Ward of Canada was indicted Friday on two counts of bankruptcy fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Ward, who is formerly from Los Angeles, is accused of running a foreclosure rescue scam that postponed more than 800 foreclosure sales through the use of identity theft.

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Ward became a fugitive in 2000 when he failed to appear in court after signing a plea agreement. Twelve years later on April 5, 2012, Ward was arrested in Canada on a U.S. provisional arrest warrant based on charges in the Central District of California. His extradition to the U.S. is pending.

From July 2007 to April 5, 2012, Ward allegedly told homeowners who were at risk of foreclosure that he would delay their foreclosure as long as they paid him $700 each month. When homeowners paid the fee, Ward used information from a public bankruptcy database to find the name of a debtor who recently filed for bankruptcy. According to the statement, Ward then retrieved a copy of the bankruptcy petition and had his clients execute, notarize, and record a grant deed transferring a 1/100th fractional interest in the property at risk into the name of the individual who filed for bankruptcy.

Warn then faxed the bankruptcy petition, the notarized grant deed, and a cover letter to the appropriate lender since filing for bankruptcy protects debtors from losing a property to foreclosure. Lenders must receive permission from bankruptcy courts to collect money owed to them.

According to the statement, Ward postponed 824 foreclosure sales through the use of at least 414 bankruptcies filed in 26 judicial districts throughout the U.S. Ward raised more than $1 million through his illegal foreclosure-delay services.

Those charged with bankruptcy fraud can face up to five years in prison and up to 30 years for mail fraud. A charge for aggravated identity theft leads to a two-year mandatory, consecutive sentence.