Thursday, August 07, 2008
Mortgage Fraud is Increasing - Get Ready
The FBI has made over 400 arrests in Operation Malicious Mortgage. In Florida, as a part of the FBI investigation, three men from Sarasota and one from Tampa are facing federal charges. A 47-count indictment against Neil Mohamed Husani, 38; Larry P. Nardelli, 49; Michael A. Tringali, 46; and John A. Yanchek, 48, from the U.S. Attorney accuses them of conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering from 2004 to 2006.
The four used a complicated scheme to defraud banks of $83 million. Husani, a real-estate investor, owned and operated Capital Force Inc. which was a key player in the frauds. As one example, Capital Force paid $3.04 million for a property in August 2005 and one month later sold it to Steeplechase Properties Inc., one of Tringali's companies, for $7.6 million. Capital Force did not yet own the land and Steeplechase overstated its financial holdings to qualify for the loan they acquired. Some of the banks involved in the various schemes include Bank Atlantic, Fifth/Third Bank, First State Bank, Mercantile Bank, Orion Bank, Coast Bank of Florida and Wachovia.
On the other side of the country two real estate agents and a married couple are facing 126 counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and other crimes. Edith Nelson, Ronals Nelson, Nelda Asuncion and Christeta Lagarejos defrauded several banks of $20 million between 2002 and 2007. They had people pose as buyers on properties including nursing homes in the San Francisco area. The real estate agents obtained the loans based on false information, from the banks.
While Security may not be involved in the loan departments files, Security may well get involved in background investigations of borrowers, appraisers and be asked to network with other banks involved in potentially fraudulent transactions.
The FBI has made over 400 arrests in Operation Malicious Mortgage. In Florida, as a part of the FBI investigation, three men from Sarasota and one from Tampa are facing federal charges. A 47-count indictment against Neil Mohamed Husani, 38; Larry P. Nardelli, 49; Michael A. Tringali, 46; and John A. Yanchek, 48, from the U.S. Attorney accuses them of conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering from 2004 to 2006.
The four used a complicated scheme to defraud banks of $83 million. Husani, a real-estate investor, owned and operated Capital Force Inc. which was a key player in the frauds. As one example, Capital Force paid $3.04 million for a property in August 2005 and one month later sold it to Steeplechase Properties Inc., one of Tringali's companies, for $7.6 million. Capital Force did not yet own the land and Steeplechase overstated its financial holdings to qualify for the loan they acquired. Some of the banks involved in the various schemes include Bank Atlantic, Fifth/Third Bank, First State Bank, Mercantile Bank, Orion Bank, Coast Bank of Florida and Wachovia.
On the other side of the country two real estate agents and a married couple are facing 126 counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and other crimes. Edith Nelson, Ronals Nelson, Nelda Asuncion and Christeta Lagarejos defrauded several banks of $20 million between 2002 and 2007. They had people pose as buyers on properties including nursing homes in the San Francisco area. The real estate agents obtained the loans based on false information, from the banks.
While Security may not be involved in the loan departments files, Security may well get involved in background investigations of borrowers, appraisers and be asked to network with other banks involved in potentially fraudulent transactions.
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