Tag Archives: Fraud

The Securites and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges against a former Florida-based stock promoter, Robert J. Vitale, who is currently serving a two-year prison term for lying to SEC investigators. The SEC's complaint alleges Vitale defrauded investors in a Florida real estate venture, sold unregistered securities, and acted as an unregistered broker-dealer.

Poppi Metaxas, former president and CEO of Gateway Bank of Oakland, California, was charged with bank fraud, bank fraud conspiracy, and perjury in relation to a sham "round trip" transaction. The scheme, initiated by Metaxas, caused Gateway to execute a false transaction in which the bank self-funded a down payment to make it appear that Gateway had sold toxic, non-performing mortgage loans.

Isaak Khafizov, a former owner of American Home Recovery (AHR), a mortgage loan modification business in New York, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to nine years in federal prison in connection with a mortgage modification scam that defrauded hundreds of homeowners and lenders.

A lawsuit filed last week in a New York federal court alleges that Wells Fargo, the nation's top mortgage provider, created a detailed, step-by-step internal manual on how to retro-sign foreclosure documents originated by other lenders.

Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Trouble Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), announced Tuesday in a press release that David Weimert, of Madison, Wisconsin, has been charged with six counts of wire fraud involving a real estate development transaction.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced that two Florida men accused of defrauding homeowners have been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison. Christopher Godfrey and Dennis Fischer were sentenced to 7 years in prison Thursday, as well as a subsequent three years of supervised release, for initiating a scheme to defraud homeowners by charging fees for applications that are provided by the government for free.

A 46-year-old Florida builder convicted of bank fraud, money laundering, and identity theft tied to three different banks and Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds was sentenced on January 16 to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay back more than $3.7 million. Lawrence Allen Wright, of Niceville, pleaded guilty to seven charges, among them, conspiracy to commit money laundering and making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution.

ProLender Solutions, Inc., a provider of paperless mortgage lending software, announced it has added flood, fraud, and Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) services to its existing interface with QuestSoft's Compliance EAGLE platform. With the expanded services, ProLender users have a simpler method to verify flood certifications, fraud compliance, and NMLS license information prior to closings.

A former U.S. Bank executive plead guilty to receiving bribes from Oxford Collection Agency over the course of several years in exchange for business, according to the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Wilbur Tate III served as the assistant VP at U.S. Bank from January 2004 through February 2011. He allegedly accepted bribes from Oxford starting in 2008--bribes which began as expensive cigars and escalated to cash payments disguised in cigar boxes.

Merscorp Holdings, Inc. announced Thursday that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), JPMorgan Chase, and other MERS members in a recent case in which the plaintiff claimed the hidden purpose of MERS was to defraud borrowers and court clerks by hiding the true owners of secured interests in property.