| By News Desk,on February 9th,2012 $25 Billion Agreement Provides Homeowner Relief &New Protections,Stops Abuses WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder,Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan,Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers announced today that the federal government and 49 state attorneys general have reached a landmark [...] By News Desk,on January 7th,2012 An Austin,Texas,man pleaded guilty today in the Western District of Texas for his role in operating a foreclosure-rescue scam in Southern California and elsewhere that charged distressed homeowners fees in exchange for fraudulently postponing foreclosure sales. [...] By News Desk,on December 8th,2011 WASHINGTON – Lisa Wright,46,and Cathy Saffer,52,of Pompano Beach,Fla.,were charged today with a conspiracy to defraud homeowners and banks in a foreclosure rescue scheme,announced the Department of Justice. Also charged was Barrington Coombs,57,a certified public accountant of Weston,Fla.,who participated in the scheme. A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging Wright and Saffer with one count of conspiracy,three counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. The grand jury charged Coombs with one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. [...] By News Desk,on September 30th,2011 WASHINGTON – Alexander Otis Matthews,a Virginia real estate businessman,was sentenced today to 10 years in prison in connection with mortgage and investment schemes to obtain more than $12 million in fraudulent loans. The sentencing was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division,U.S. Attorney Neil H. [...] By News Desk,on September 1st,2011 WASHINGTON –Thomas E. Parenteau of Hilliard,Ohio,was sentenced today to 22 years in prison for conspiring with his wife,his mistress and their accountant,to commit tax fraud and money laundering,the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Parenteau was also sentenced for conspiring to obstruct justice and tamper with witnesses. [...] By News Desk,on August 15th,2011 SACRAMENTO,Calif. — A real estate investor pleaded guilty last Friday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County,Sharis A. Pozen,Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division,and Benjamin B. Wagner,[...] By News Desk,on August 7th,2011 WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit against the city of Joliet,Ill.,alleging that the city violated the Fair Housing Act and the Housing and Community Development Act by taking a series of actions,culminating in the taking through eminent domain a federally-subsidized affordable housing development,that would displace more [...] By News Desk,on August 4th,2011 MIAMI – Louis Gendason of Delray Beach,Fla.; Kimberly Mackey of Pittsburgh;and John Incandela,of Palm Beach,Fla.,pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their participation in a $2.5 million Home Equity Conversion Mortgage,or reverse mortgage,fraud scheme . [...] By News Desk,on July 15th,2011 WASHINGTON – Alexander Otis Matthews,a Virginia real estate businessman pleaded guilty today to fraud charges in connection with mortgage and investment schemes to obtain more than $12 million in fraudulent loans. The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division,U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of [...] By News Desk,on July 3rd,2011 Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON — Eight California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in two separate conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California,the Department of Justice announced. [...] By News Desk,on June 25th,2011 WASHINGTON –The Department of Justice announced late this week that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of New Berlin,Wis.,alleging that the city violated the Fair Housing Act by repeatedly taking action to prevent the construction of an affordable housing development by a private developer,MSP Real Estate Inc. The complaint,[...] By News Desk,on June 21st,2011 Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday,June 21,2011 WASHINGTON – The former chief executive officer (CEO) of Taylor,Bean &Whitaker (TBW) was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failure of TBW. [...] By News Desk,on June 18th,2011 WASHINGTON – A former senior vice president and head of Colonial Bank’s Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division was sentenced today to eight years in prison for her role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and Taylor,Bean &Whitaker (TBW). Colonial Bank was one of the [...] By News Desk,on March 26th,2011 A real estate investor pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Sacramento,Calif.,to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County,Calif.,Christine Varney,Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division,and Benjamin B. Wagner,U.S. Attorney [...] By News Desk,on February 8th,2011 The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Chandi Biswas,Kenneth R. Scott and Frankie L. Roberson violated the Fair Housing Act by making discriminatory statements against African-American renters at Rolling Oaks Apartments in Clanton,Ala. The settlement,in the form of a consent decree,was approved by a federal district [...] By News Desk,on December 27th,2010 The Justice Department today announced a $1.25 million agreement with Warren Properties Inc.,Warren Village (Mobile) Limited Partnership and Frank R. Warren to settle allegations that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a tenant’s requests for a reasonable accommodation. This settlement is the largest ever obtained by the department in [...] By News Desk,on December 20th,2010 The Justice Department today announced that South Dakota property owner TK Properties L.L.C. and one of its principals,Scott Terveen,have agreed to pay $30,000 in monetary damages and civil penalties to settle a Fair Housing Act lawsuit against them. The lawsuit alleges that they discriminated against three families who lived at Lakeport Village Apartments,[...] By News Desk,on December 18th,2010 The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday against a Gulfport,Miss.,newspaper and a landlord and her agent for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children. The lawsuit,filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi,charges that Penny Pincher,a weekly want-ad newspaper distributed along [...] By News Desk,on December 10th,2010 A former residential sales manager at a Florida property management company pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with housing repair contracts for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA),the Department of Justice announced this week. Benjamin K. Graves,formerly a residential sales manager at West Palm Beach,Fla.-based Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC,[...] By News Desk,on December 9th,2010 Settlement Provides $2 Million to African-American Borrowers Who Paid Higher Interest Rates PrimeLending,a national mortgage lender with 168 offices in 32 states at the end of 2009,has agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African-American borrowers between 2006 and 2009. [...] By Dennis Norman,on November 10th,2010 Todd M. Gongwer,of Columbus,Ohio,was sentenced today to two years in prison for conspiring with convicted Columbus area home builder Thomas Parenteau to commit a mortgage fraud scheme in which the pair defrauded banks into lending more than $10 million to Gongwer,his nominees and unqualified borrowers,the Justice Department announced today. [...] By News Desk,on October 24th,2010 The Justice Department announced this week that a Munster,Ind.,condominium association and its three member board of directors have agreed to pay $120,000 to resolve allegations that they refused to approve the sale of a condominium to an African-American couple because of their race and because they had children. The settlement must still be approved [...] By News Desk,on October 20th,2010 The Justice Department filed a lawsuit last week against the owner and manager of Royal Arms Apartments,a 26-unit apartment building in Ravenna,Ohio,for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of familial status in the rental of apartments. The lawsuit,filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District [...] By News Desk,on October 1st,2010 A federal district judge in Shreveport,La.,has found that Reggie Collier,a Louisiana landowner,violated the Fair Housing Act by interfering with the sale of a home based on the perceived race of the buyer,the Justice Department announced today. The court ordered Collier to pay a $25,000 civil penalty to the United States,[...] By News Desk,on September 11th,2010 A Raleigh,N.C.,real estate speculator pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids for public real estate foreclosure auctions held in multiple counties in eastern North Carolina,the Department of Justice announced today. Christopher J. Deans pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Greenville,N.C.,for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids during [...] By News Desk,on August 11th,2010 The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday against the owners,developers,architects and civil engineers of Park Place Apartments,a 276-unit complex in Louisville,Ky.,for failing to provide accessible features required by the Fair Housing Act. [...] By News Desk,on August 7th,2010 A federal jury in Detroit yesterday returned a $115,000 verdict against an Ypsilanti,Mich.,man for sexually harassing female tenants in his capacity as a property manager,the Justice Department announced today. The jury also found the property owner and his company liable for the illegal harassment. [...] By News Desk,on May 5th,2010 A Baltimore attorney was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to serve one year and one day in jail and to pay an $800,000 criminal fine for rigging bids at various Maryland tax lien auctions,the Department of Justice announced today. Harvey M. Nusbaum pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of conspiring to [...] By News Desk,on April 30th,2010 A 41-year-old Prior Lake man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in St. Paul on charges connected to an equity-skimming scheme that targeted vulnerable homeowners. United States District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced Michael Fiorito to 270 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and six counts of mail [...] By News Desk,on March 19th,2010 U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced that 40 individuals have been arrested and charged in connection with a major mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas. The 16-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on March 10,2010,and includes one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud,12 [...] | |