A murder in the Detroit suburbs has led to the breakup of an alleged mortgage scam that has been under investigation by federal authorities.
Two Detroit men with connections to the mortgage industry — Samer Fawaz, 29, originally of Lebanon, and Jordanian native Bashir Farraj, 27 — are being held in the Oct. 17 slaying of Raed Al-Farrah, 27, a Wayne State University student also from Jordan, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga.
Fawaz and Farraj have been charged with first degree murder and are being held without bond pending a Dec. 3 preliminary hearing in Sterling Heights District Court, Marlinga said in an interview.
All three were allegedly using fake mortgages to receive loans and cash from lenders, Marlinga said.
“The two people we have in custody … were working a (mortgage) scam together with” the victim, Marlinga said. “Raed Al-Farah played a buyer. He was the one receiving a mortgage. He would sign the (mortgage) papers, pretending to be someone he was not.
“The mortgage proceeds were then paid and the check was cashed,” he said.
Lawyers for the pair could not be reached to comment.
Marlinga said county prosecutors are more concerned at this point with the murder investigation while details about the mortgage scam are still emerging.
Marlinga did say that prior to the murder the Detroit field office of the Federal Bureau Investigation was investigating the trio in connection for their real estate activities.
The public relations contact at the bureau’s Detroit field office would not confirm the investigation — a common response given by the FBI when asked about ongoing investigations.
Marlinga said details about how the alleged scam worked “are sketchy.”
“I don’t know much about the FBI case, and they’re not authorized to tell you,” he said.
Here’s what Marlinga does know.
Both or maybe just one of the suspects worked in the mortgage industry, but their exact jobs are not yet known. Neither were licensed to broker mortgages, Marlinga said.
Prosecutors aren’t sure how much money was allegedly scammed, but they do believe all three people were involved. At least four and possibly more fake mortgage loans were made to them, Marlinga said.
“Our allegation that we plan to present at trial is that they were all involved in a series of fraudulent mortgages, that there was a disagreement among the three of them,” he said.
Marlinga said he believes Al-Farah was owed money and the other suspects feared he would go to authorities unless paid.
“It could have been a fight over money,” he said. “Perhaps Raed thought of not going along with them in the future.”
Al-Farah was not the leader of the group and likely the most minor role, Marlinga said.
Prosecutors believe the murder took place at a mortgage office in suburban Sterling Heights, but that the body — which has still not been recovered — was moved after the murder.
Marlinga said witnesses have told investigators that saw the suspects cleaning up blood at the mortgage office.
Al-Farah was reported missing by his family on Oct. 20.
