A major mortgage company service provider has partnered with a convicted felon.
Jerome Mayne, once a lucrative mortgage company owner, was barred from originating loans after he was convicted and sentenced to 21 months of prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud while engaged in a wide scale property-flipping scheme. He received his sentence in 1999 — about five years after the crime took place. Since his time behind bars, Mayne has dedicated time to stand up comedy, and through his company, Fraudcon Inc., offers his tale about the consequences of fraud, according to fraudcon.com.
Now he has partnered with Sysdome Inc., an Internet-based technology provider of mortgage fraud prevention and audit support tools. Sysdome announced Mayne will use his personal testimony to help establish fraud awareness when training mortgage companies and speaking at industry conferences.
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“Sysdome is proud to offer a unique approach to fraud, offering the industry a frontline perspective to the pressures of originators and many professionals every day,” said Sysdome executive Kevin Coop in the announcement. “Our goal is that the Fraudcon seminars will raise awareness, help identify misconceptions and ultimately lead to new practices and training among companies concerned about loan quality.” In recent testimony to Congress, the FBI said it found that “80% of all reported fraud losses involve collaboration or collusion by industry insiders.” The government agency defined industry insiders as appraisers, accountants, attorneys, real estate brokers, mortgage underwriters and processors, settlement/title company employees, brokers, loan originators and other professionals engaged in the mortgage industry. “While lenders look to predict risk, there’s one variable they can’t predict — the human element, and exactly when insiders decide to commit fraud,” Mayne said in the announcement. “Had tools like Sysdome’s fraud software been available when I committed fraud, those loans would have never made it to underwriting. Identifying risks prior to underwriting and before losses occur is key to beating fraud. My story seems to have made an impact on the human element factor.” |
Sysdome said it finds that Mayne’s personal example and consequences, along with fraud prevention education, creates long-term retention among lending professionals. Through the partnership, Mayne combines his story of mortgage crime and punishment with practical training to provide solutions designed to help lenders recognize the signs of fraud. His curriculum includes defining fraud, anatomy of property flips, how to recognize straw buyers, loan file red flags and real world case studies where strategic technology would have prevented fraud.
Mayne’s career path resembles that of Frank Abagnale, a former master forger who is author and subject of the hit movie Catch Me If You Can. Abagnale wrote millions of dollars in bad checks, went to jail and then was invited to work for the FBI helping catch fellow forgers. He recently spoke to mortgage industry professionals about check fraud and identity theft prevention techniques to industry professionals at a recent conference by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Related:
Broker Tells Tale of Terror
Finally, all the doughnuts have paid off. A real estate agent turns you on to a property investor that needs a loan officer to work with the many buyers for his properites. Years later, the U.S. government interupts your lunch and sends you to prison. This is the story of Jerome Mayne.
