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Federal Housing Finance Agency

Mortgage Fraud: NJ Developer, Attorney Admit Swindling Lenders Out Of $3.5M Mortgage Fraud: NJ Developer, Attorney Admit Swindling Lenders Out Of $3.5M
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…