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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 supposed to be wired to the financial institution that holds the existing mortgage so that it can be paid off, she noted.
Between 2016 and 2019, Kaufman, together with others, engaged in a scheme to defraud Home Point Financial Corporation, LoanDepot, United Wholesale Mortgage, and other mortgage lenders by obtaining, and attempting to obtain, funding by making false representations of his dealings.
Specifically, Kaufman provided false wire routing information to the lenders for the existing mortgages.
Instead of wiring the funds to the correct financial institutions, the funds were instead transferred to bank accounts controlled by Kaufman. As a result, the existing mortgages were not paid off—leaving clients with two mortgages on their homes—and Kaufman stole the funds for his own personal use.
In total, Kaufman stole more than $4.7 million, some of which he used to make mortgage payments on the existing mortgages or to eventually pay off those mortgages to avoid detection of his scheme.
“With today’s guilty plea, Kaufman admits to stealing millions of dollars in a brazen mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded numerous lenders and left his homeowner-clients in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure,” Kasulis stated.
“This office is committed to prosecuting defendants like Kaufman who are driven by greed to abuse the trust of innocent homeowners”
When he is sentenced, Kaufman faces up to 30 years in prison and a forfeiture of up to $1 million.
“Not only did Kaufman steal his victims’ money, but he also violated their trust, leaving them financially vulnerable and at risk of significant financial complications,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll stated.
“Collectively, his victims suffered millions of dollars in losses. Today’s guilty plea reminds us of the threat posed by those who prioritize their own financial interests above all else.”
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