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Mortgage Fraud
Hartford, CT
Your Community
Trump Commutes Sentence Of Developer Convicted in $50M Hartford Mortgage Fraud
President Donald Trump has commuted the five-year prison sentence of a New York real estate manager who pleaded guilty of fraudulently obtaining nearly $50 million in mortgage loans by overstating the value of apartment buildings in Hartford, his administration announced. Jacob Deutsch, a Brooklyn man who was sentenced in early 2022 to 62 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in what prosecutors described as a wide-ranging mortgage fraud scheme, was granted clemency last week. The White House did not provide a reason for the commutation. (Click here to read Trump'…
National Interest
You're Fired? Trump, US Attorney For Virginia Have Different Takes On Prosecutor's Exit
President Donald Trump was all smiles after Erik Siebert, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned — though they have two takes on his ousting. Siebert was under pressure from Trump after he failed to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud, and the conflict came to a head on Friday, Sept. 19, resulting in the attorney leaving his position. "This evening, I submitted my resignation as Interim US Attorney for EDVA. For the last eight months, I have had the pleasure of leading the finest and most exceptional of DOJ employees, who care deeply ab…
National Interest
Trump Moves To Fire Virginia US Attorney For Not Charging NY AG Letitia James: Reports
President Donald Trump reportedly wants to oust Erik Siebert, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, after he failed to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud. Trump said on Friday that he supports removing Siebert from his position after being asked about the probe into James' Virginia home. Siebert's office had been investigating mortgage fraud allegations against James brought up by the administration regarding her home in Virginia. Trump nominated Siebert for his position earlier this year. “Yeah, I want him out, yeah,” Trump said in response…
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Trump Targets Schiff’s Maryland Home In Fiery Feud: ‘Bring Him To Justice’
Maryland just became the center of the latest Trump-Schiff blowup — and this time, it’s personal. Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday, July 15, accusing Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff of committing “a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud” related to his Maryland property, while calling for Schiff to be “brought to justice.” CNN first reported on Schiff's Maryland property in 2023. “I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist,” Trump wrote at 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday, setting off a series of statements that played out publicly. “And n…
Uniondale, NY
Breaking News
Dad Tried Blowing Up Uniondale Gov't Building Over Custody Dispute, Led $600K Fraud Scheme: DA
A Long Island father who tried to blow up a government building in a custody-fueled revenge plot pleaded guilty to a laundry list of charges, including multiple bomb-related crimes, mortgage fraud, and identity theft. James Luca, age 47, admitted in Nassau County Court Monday, June 2, to trying to ignite explosive devices outside the county’s Department of Social Services building in Uniondale in September 2024. Upset and aggrieved, he blamed Nassau County Child Protective Services for revoking his visitation rights with his children, as Daily Voice previously reported. Luca placed two pro…
National Interest
Supreme Court Attorney From Chevy Chase Failed To Report Millions In Poker Winnings: Feds
A supreme court attorney attorney from Maryland who made his name arguing before the Supreme Court is now facing serious legal trouble of his own. Thomas Goldstein, 53, a prominent appellate lawyer and high-stakes poker player known to play in games involving millions, was indicted on Thursday, Jan. 16 on multiple charges for failing to report his winnings, authorities announced It is alleged that Goldstein failed to report millions of dollars in poker winnings and omitting over $14 million in debt to secure a multimillion-dollar home loan in DC. Specifically, a federal grand jur…
Toms River, NJ
Breaking News
Toms River Man Led Scheme To Commit Mortgage,
Covid-
19 Business Loan Fraud: Feds
A Toms River man was accused of leading a multimillion-dollar scheme to commit mortgage fraud and steal federal COVID-19 loans, authorities said. Arthur Spitzer, 37, was indicted on 25 counts, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release on Tuesday, Sept. 3. A grand jury also indicted 38-year-old Mendel Deutsch of Toms River and 42-year-old Joshua Feldberger of Howell Township in the case. According to the indictment, Spitzer got mortgage loans for real estate properties that he didn't own in New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York. He chose properties that ha…
Towson, MD
Your Community
Marilyn Mosby Guilty Of Mortgage Fraud Charge, Acquitted Of Other In Maryland, Feds Say
Embattled former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been convicted of making a false mortgage application while she was in office in connection to the purchase of a condo in Florida - though she was acquitted of other offenses. The 44-year-old politician is facing prison time following a lengthy, well-documented trial that led to her conviction, which was announced by a jury on Tuesday afternoon following hours of deliberation. Prosecutors said that evidence presented at trial showed that in February 2021, Mosby made a false statement in an application for a $428,4…
Jersey City, NJ
Breaking News
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez Indicted On Federal Bribery Charges
Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey was indicted Friday on federal corruption charges that include allegations of him secretly supporting the government of Egypt and trying to influence U.S. prosecutors' case against Bergen County real estate magnate Fred Daibes. Mendendez, 69, who's chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made several moves in exchange for bribes, some of which were passed to his wife, Nadine Arsianian, a sweeping indictment unsealed on Sept. 22 alleges. A staggering array of charges were brought by the grand jurors in the Southern District of Ne…
New Rochelle, NY
Breaking News
$2M Scheme: 6 Steal Property Deeds, Obtain Fraudulent Loans In New Rochelle, Yonkers, DA Says
Six people, including a licensed real estate broker and salesperson, and a corporation, have been charged with defrauding homeowners in Westchester and fraudulently obtaining $2 million in loans by stealing property deeds, DA officials said. The six defendants involved in the scheme, including three Westchester residents and a Long Island man, were arrested and arraigned in late June for their role in a scheme that allegedly defrauded homeowners in Yonkers and New Rochelle, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday, July 3. According to officials, the…
Jersey City, NJ
Breaking News
Ex-Hudson Sheriff's Officer Admits $98,000 Short-Sale Mortgage Scheme For Jersey Shore Home
A former Hudson County sheriff’s officer admitted defrauding a bank to duck $98,000 in mortgage payments on a Jersey Shore home, federal authorities said. Osbado Hernandez, 54, of Avenel, conspired with others to lie about a bogus short sale of his house in Keansburg so that the unidentified bank would discharge what was left on his mortgage, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Hernandez bought the property for $239,900 in 2006, financing it through a mortgage loan from the victimized bank, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Trenton says. He ended up behind on the payments,…
Hackensack, NJ
Breaking News
Accused Mortgage Fraud Schemer From Bergen Already Had A History, Records Show
Gerrmaioud Chape was no stranger to police and prosecutors in Bergen County. So it wasn’t surprising to some when county prosecutors charged him with stealing $525,000 from unwitting investors through mortgage fraud. Chape, 43, already had a petty criminal history that included arrests for speeding, shoplifting and drugs when Bogota police charged him in 2015 with pocketing $40,000 that a Colombian brother and sister saved to come to America. The money was supposed to be a down payment on a mortgage for the siblings’ new home, authorities said at the time, but Chape used it instead on pers…
Franklin Township, NJ
Breaking News
Mortgage Fraud: NJ Developer, Attorney Admit Swindling Lenders Out Of $3.5M
A New Jersey real estate developer and a lawyer admitted running a multi-layered mortgage fraud that cost banks more than $3.5 million in losses, federal authorities said. Developer Victor Santos, 63, of Watchung, paid stand-in "straw" buyers $5,000 each to first purchase a dozen properties in Newark and then secure tenants to lease them, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. A group of conspirators including him and attorney Fausto Simoes, 69, of Millington, covered the costs -- including fees and mortgage payments, the U.S. attorney said. "Santos, Simoes, and others also caused the sub…
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Federal Judge Schedules Hearing After Marilyn Mosby Files To Move Perjury Case Out Of Baltimore
A federal judge has reportedly scheduled a hearing in December to hear arguments on State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's motion to move her perjury and mortgage fraud trial out of Baltimore, reports CBS News. The hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 15 after Mosby's team filed a motion to move her trial out of Baltimore last week. Mosby is accused of committing perjury to illegally obtain a withdrawal from her retirement account. The government argues that Mosby lied about adversely being impacted by COVID-19 in order to take out money without penalty while she continued to work on a sa…
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Man Admits To Conspiring With Maryland Brother To Obtain Federal Housing Loan
The brother of a Baltimore business owner has admitted to falsely claiming his brother's bank balance and activity to obtain a federal housing administration loan, officials say. Calvin Abramowitz, 48, of Lakewood, New Jersey, has been ordered to pay $209,036 after pleading guilty to bank fraud, according to the Department of Justice. Abramowitz and his brother, Philip Abramowitz, age 40, of Pikesville, Maryland, conspired to defraud at least one financial institution to obtain Federal Housing Administration loans and property under false pretenses, officials said. Philip Abramow…
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Feds Charge Baltimore Prosecutor With Lying On COVID Withdrawal, Mortgage Documents
A federal grand jury has charged Baltimore's top prosecutor with faking financial hardship on mortgage loan statements for two vacation homes and to make a COVID-related withdrawal from her retirement savings. Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby submitted paperwork for one-time withdrawals of $40,000 and $50,000, respectively, from the City of Baltimore’s Deferred Compensation Plans in May and December 2020, an indictment on file in U.S. District Court alleges. Mosby, 41, of Baltimore, falsely certified -- under penalty of perjury -- that she met at least one of the qual…
Newark, NJ
Breaking News
Feds: International Fugitive Admits Role In $30 Million NJ Mortgage Fraud
A New Jersey mortgage company loan officer who’d been an international fugitive for several years admitted his role in a long-running, large-scale scam that cost lenders more than $30 million, authorities said. Isaac DePaula, 41, and a group of conspirators pulled off the scheme through a company called Premier Mortgage Services (PMS), according to a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark. The thieves targeted low-income areas, recruiting straw buyers to seek mortgages for properties they really couldn’t afford, federal authorities charged. The conspirators secured the loans by…
Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Breaking News
Ridgefield Park Man Gets 15 Months In Fed Pen For Major Mortgage Fraud
A Ridgefield Park man was sentenced Friday to 15 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dennys A. Tapia, 55, took a deal from the government rather than go to trial, pleading guilty to a single count of conspiring to commit bank fraud last December. He'll have to serve out the entire sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Tapia and a number of unnamed co-conspirators produced bogus documents to a loan officer for potential borrowers, including fraudulent lease agreements, bank statement…
Massapequa, NY
Breaking News
Long Island Man Admits To $4.7M Mortgage-Fraud Scheme
An unlicensed mortgage broker on Long Island has admitted to his role in a multi-million dollar Ponzi-like scheme to defraud his clients, federal officials announced. Commack resident Brent Kaufman, age 50, pleaded guilty to stealing $4.7 million in mortgage refinancing proceeds that were meant to pay off the existing mortgages of his clients. Acting US Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said Kaufman worked as an unlicensed mortgage broker and assisted clients in Queens and Long Island with refinancing their mortgages. At the closing for a mortgage refinancing, the money from the new mortgage is …
Massapequa, NY
Breaking News
Nassau County Man Accused Of Defrauding Owners Of Two Brownstones
A Long Island man is facing charges for allegedly scheming to steal a pair of brownstones, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced. Nassau County resident Joseph Makhani, age 58, of Kings Point, was arrested this week for alleged deed theft and mortgage fraud after defrauding the owners of the brownstones by using forged and falsified real estate documents. According to James, Makhani targeted the two Harlem brownstones using forged and falsified documents, numerous LLCs under his control, multiple property transfers, an unethical attorney, and abused court processe…
Brentwood, NY
Breaking News
Long Island Man Sentenced In ‘Shotgun’ Mortgage Scheme That Cost Banks $9 Million
A Long Island man was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for his role in a $9 million ‘shotgun’ mortgage scheme in New Jersey and New York. Yorce Yotagri, age 54, of Freeport, admitted last year that he partnered with Jorge Flores of Oakdale and Jose Piehrahita, also of Freeport, to secure several home equity lines of credit for the same properties and pocket the money before the lending banks found out, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. One of those properties was in Jersey City, a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Yotagri lived on another i…
Newark, NJ
Breaking News
Long Island Man Sentenced In NJ/NY ‘Shotgun’ Mortgage Scheme That Cost Banks $9 Million
A Long Island man was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for his role in a $9 million ‘shotgun’ mortgage scheme in New Jersey and New York. Yorce Yotagri, 54, of Freeport admitted last year that he partnered with Jorge Flores of Oakdale and Jose Piehrahita, also of Freeport, to secure several home equity lines of credit for the same properties and pocket the money before the lending banks found out, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. One of those properties was in Jersey City, a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Yotagri lived on another in Fre…
Teaneck, NJ
Breaking News
Feds: Teaneck Owner Of 70 Multi-Family Properties Admits $150M Bank Fraud Scheme
A Teaneck landlord admitted in federal court this week that he orchestrated a $150 million bank and securities fraud scheme that lasted nearly 10 years. Seth Levine, 52, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via teleconference that he and others pocketed cash they received by illegally refinancing 70 multi-family buildings containing nearly 2,500 apartments. Levine said he lied on refinancing applications about the rents collected, the number of apartments leased, expenses and the true owners of the complex, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. That wasn’t all: L…
Massapequa, NY
Breaking News
Trio From Long Island, Queens Nabbed For Alleged Mortgage Fraud Scheme, Feds Say
Three men from Long Island and Queens have been charged in a civil complaint they allegedly engaged in a wide-ranging mortgage scheme to defraud the government. The complaint, unsealed on Monday, Jan. 4, alleges that Nassau County resident Michael Konstantinovskiy, of Roslyn Heights, and Queens residents Iskyo Aronov, of Middle Village, Ron Borovinsky, of Hollis Hills, and the companies they owned or controlled, engaged in fraudulent short sales of residential properties insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), said Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern Distric…
Hackensack, NJ
Breaking News
Hackensack Dad, Son Charged With Securing $400G Mortgage With Maywood Resident's Stolen ID
A Hackensack father and son were charged in a sophisticated scheme using a stolen Maywood resident’s identity to secure a $400,000 mortgage loan. Leonard Gueye, 58, and his son Eustace, 28, who live together on Anderson Street, are charged with theft, money laundering, forgery and wrongful impersonation, among other counts. Leonard “obtained the personal identifying information of the victim” from a previous real estate deal, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Using that information, the elder Gueye produced bogus bank statements and W-2 forms, as well as a notarized power of atto…
Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Breaking News
Feds: Ridgefield Park Man Admits Role In Major Mortgage Fraud
A Ridgefield Park man admitted his role Thursday in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dennys A. Tapia, 54, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty to a single count of conspiring to commit bank fraud, rather than go to trial. Tapia and a number of unnamed co-conspirators produced bogus lease agreements, bank statements, pay stubs and employment verifications that secured mortgage loans for unqualified property buyers, as well as a “straw” borrower who participated in the scheme, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. A lender “issued a…
Newark, NJ
Breaking News
10 Charged In NJ Mortgage Fraud Scheme That Swindled Low Income Buyers Out Of Thousands
Ten people including two at large have been charged in a mortgage fraud scheme that included racketeering, theft, tampering with records and money laundering across Essex County, authorities said. Between 2016 and 2019, the individuals recruited unsuspecting buyers for investment properties in Newark, East Orange, and Irvington, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said Friday. With little to no down payment and questionable financial stability, the buyers were led to entrust the entire mortgage application process to Darnell Alford, of Toms River, and Travis Glover…
Newark, NJ
Breaking News
Feds: Longtime Fugitive From Brazil Surrenders In Major NJ Mortgage Fraud
A long-time Brazilian fugitive flew returned to New Jersey on Tuesday to face federal charges in a long-running mortgage fraud, authorities said. Isaac DePaula, 40, of Brazil, had been on the run since federal authorities first charged him in a 2012 complaint and then a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark indicted him four years later. He flew in to Newark Airport on Tuesday to face the indictment, which charges him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and three counts of bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. A federal judge ordered DePaula’s release pending further court…
Elizabeth, NJ
Breaking News
Feds In Newark Bust Contractor Who They Said Scammed Public Library
Federal authorities on Thursday arrested a Union County businessman who they said pulled off a pair of scams, one of which cost the Orange Public Library $40,000. Shenandoah Adams Sr., 54, of New Providence initially bought an East Orange site on Hilton Street in 2014 on behalf of his property management company, then arranged for a $153,562 loan to a “close associate” knowing that person didn’t have the money to pay his company the balance of the $225,000 purchase price, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. At the March 2015 closing, Adams had his associate write a worthless check to cover …
Northern Highlands, NJ
Breaking News
Park Ridge Dad, Upper Saddle River Son Sentenced To Federal Time For Mortgage Scam
A Park Ridge man was sentenced Thursday to 27 months in federal prison and his Upper Saddle River son to home confinement for eight months for defrauding mortgage lenders out of more than $300,000. George Bussanich Sr., 60, and George Bussanich Jr., 39, used most of the money to buy high-end luxury vehicles, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Both men previously admitted in U.S. District Court in Newark that they used sham short sales of two properties -- one on Jefferson Avenue in Emerson, the other on Lillian Street in Park Ridge – to swindle mortgage lenders between 2009 and 2012. The …
Brentwood, NY
Breaking News
Long Island Real Estate Agent Charged In $150,000 Mortgage Fraud
A Long Island real estate agent has been charged after his involvement in a $150,000 mortgage fraud, according to police. Officers with the County of Nassau Police Department say they arrested Rickie Roberts, 58, of North Valley Stream on Tuesday, Oct. 1 based on a mortgage fraud complaint made by two victims from Freeport on Saturday, Aug. 24. After an investigation by Nassau County Police Department Fraud and Forgery Unit and the New York State Department of Financial Services, it was determined that Roberts showed the victims multiple properties in Bethpage over the course of three years…
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