New Jersey Men Charged with Mortgage Fraud

President Obama has brought to bear the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, an interagency effort to root out and combat alleged white collar crimes, such as mortgage fraud.

The Financial Enforcement Fraud Task Force has come down on two New Jersey men, one a former mortgage broker and the other a purported real estate professional, who have now been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The alleged scheme has defrauded mortgage lenders of more than $7 million.

The men were arrested yesterday. If convicted, each faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The serious nature of the charges underscores the complexity of many white collar criminal cases, from embezzlement to computer crimes.

In summary, the men are charged with forging and falsifying mortgage loan applications by stating that the purchase prices on various properties were much more than they actually were, thus obtaining bloated mortgage loans.

After the loans were approved, attorneys representing the men deposited the bloated mortgage loans into their trust accounts and acted as agents at closings.

The men, in turn, would act as buyers at the closings, using the proceeds of the fraudulently obtained loans, and then file modified deeds to give effect to the various real estate transactions--while keeping their names out of the transactions.

If you have been charged with a while collar crime, or any other type of crime, it is important to seek the assistance of an experienced criminal defense lawyer.

Source: Sewaren Man Charged In $7 Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme