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Criminal Actions Fourth-Quarter 2011 Mortgage Litigation Index

Criminal Actions
Fourth-Quarter 2011 Mortgage Litigation Index

Cases involving criminal complaints.

Defendant	Plaintiff	Court	Amount	Overview	Case Title	Case Number	Date Filed	Date of Activity	Link to Story
Calvin Brainard, Mary Brainard	United States of America	na	$95,208	Charges filed, arrests made.	na	na	na	Dec. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal030612.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal030612.asp
Image Masters, Wesley A. Snyder	na	na	$65,000,000	Defendant was sentenced to more than a decade in prison back in 2008. But in December, a Berks County, Pa., judge ordered six former employees to pay $1.4 million in restitution.	na	na	na	Dec. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Khristian Munizaga	na	na	$200,000	Defendant sentenced to 61 months in prison for allegedly racking up $200,000 in purchases using counterfeit credit cards	na	na	na	10/21/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Steve Zaven Kessedjian	na	na	$57,343	Defendant arrested for allegedly utilizing $57,343 in proceeds on one refinance transaction that were intended to pay off credit card bills for his use. The victims reportedly lost their home to foreclosure because they couldn’t afford to pay both the mortgage and the unpaid creditors.	na	na	na	Nov. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Celina Villarreal	na		$8,000,000	Defendant pled guilty to stealing more than $8 million from the accounts held by five customers of her employer, Compass Bank	na	na	na	10/31/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Danielle M. Keane	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania	$452,038	Defendant was sentenced to 33 months in prison for creating unauthorized checks and covered up her crimes by adjusting the account ledger to make it look like the money was re-credited back into the pension account, leading the pensioner to believe that there was more money in the account than there actually was.	na	na	na	11/16/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Julie Phillips	na	na	$100,000	Defendant was sentenced to 12 months in prison for embezzling $100,000 from the Citigroup Inc. subsidiary while she was a district manager in Vermont	na	na	na	10/31/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Stephanie Horne	na	na	$94,000	Defendant has pleaded guilty to lying to the U.S. Secret Service about diverting $94,000 from customer accounts in 2004 to her family and friends	na	na	na	Nov. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Torlando Ramont Childress	na	na	$377,112	Defendant sentenced to 18 months in prison for embezzling from South Carolina Community Bank	na	na	na	10/18/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Ashik Ahmed Azeez	na	na	$8,250	Defendant entered “no contest” plea to collecting illegal up-front fees through his businesses, Turbo Mortgage Modification and Turbo Solutions, in 2010. The plea agreement calls for him to spend 90 days in jail and return $8,250 to the borrowers.	na	na	na	Sept. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Christopher Fox, Curtis Melone, King Harris III	State of California	na	na	Fox and Curtis arrested.	na	na	na	Dec. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms011612.asp
Christopher Johns, Allen Banks	na	na	na	Johns sentenced to 30 months prison.	na	na	na	Sept. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Gary Anderson, Patrick Campion, James Doherty, Keith Goodman, Troy Kent, Craig Lipton, Henry Pessah and Laith Salma	na	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California	na	All eight of the defendants agreed to plead guilty to bid-rigging at foreclosure auctions	na	na	10/28/2011	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Gary Trafford, Gerri Sheppard	State of Nevada	na	na	The state alleges that the defendants directed and supervised a robo-signing scheme where tens of thousands of fraudulent documents were filed with the Clark County Recorder’s Office between 2005 and 2008	na	na	11/15/2011	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/IndictmentLps111711.asp
John Marcus Desenberg	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California	$300,000	Arrested over foreclosure-rescue scheme operated through Creative Lending Solutions.	na	na	na	21-Nov	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms011612.asp
Maria Ponce, Melissa Garcia	Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo	na	$150,000	Ponce pled guilty to felony grand theft tied to a foreclosure rescue scam	na	na	na	Nov. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms112111.asp
Marien Brown	State of Missouri	na	$265,000	Sentencing planned for operator of 1st Financial Resource LLC who pled guilty on Sept. 27 to duping 80 Hawaiian borrowers into using her foreclosure-rescue service and keeping their payments instead of passing them along to the lenders	na	na	8/8/2011	12/22/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms112111.asp
Meghan Shaw, Jennifer Bloecker, Joseph Noel, Tracy Lawrence (died before sentencing)	Nevada Attorney General’s Office	Las Vegas Justice Court	na	Three more indictments filed. Defendants are accused of “robo-signing.”	na	na	11/16/2011	11/30/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/MctLpsNotaries120611.asp
Robert Rose	na	U.S. District court for the Eastern District of California	na	Defendant pleaded guilty to bid-rigging in 2009	na	na	na	9/23/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Wiley C. Chandler, Andrew B. Katakis, Donald M. Parker, Anthony B. Joachim and W. Theodore Longley (10 total)	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California	na	Indictment of five defendants accused of scheming to rig bids at public real estate auctions from September 2008 until October 2009. They also allegedly fraudulently acquired titles to some auctioned properties and diverted money to co-conspirators.	na	na	12/7/2011	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp, www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal030612.asp
1st American Law Center, Gary Michael Bobel, Scott Thomas Spencer, Mark Andrew Spencer, Roger Trent Jones and Travis Corey Iverson	na	na	$11,000,000	High-pressure sales tactics and “outright lies” were used to convince clients to fork over between $1,995 and $4,495 each. The defendants falsely claimed they had a team of attorneys who pre-screened clients and that they had a 98 percent success rate in obtaining modifications. Defendants pleaded guilty.	na	na	na	12/16/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
William Jeffrey Hutching	na	Court of Appeals of California, Fourth District, Division One	$500,000	Defendant was convicted in connection with alleged deceitful practices related to foreclosure consulting and he was sentenced to 46 years prison. Defendant’s appeal was denied.	THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. WILLIAM JEFFREY HUTCHINGS, Defendant and Appellant	D057451	10/18/2011	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms112111.asp
Stephen Andrew Easterly and Emanuel Percival	na	na	na	Defendants arraigned for collecting between $3,500 and $7,000 from borrowers seeking to avoid foreclosures or modify their loans	na	na	na	Aug. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Samantha Carter	Bank of America	na	$2,700,000	Squatter files affidavit of adverse possession forcing servicer to take foreclosed property off the market.	na	na	na	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/MctTexasSquatters120411.asp
Alex Soria, Sonia Rodis, and Hans Johns	State of Nevada	na	na	Defendants arrested and charged with operating a mortgage scam that preyed on elderly and distressed borrowers	na	na	10/27/2011	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms112111.asp
Alan David Tikal	na	Alameda County Superior Court	na	Owner of KATN Trust pleaded no contest and was found guilty of filing false documents and accepting advance fees on loan modifications. He was sentenced to 16 months prison plus restitution.	People v. Alan David Tikal	165379A	na	10/31/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms112111.asp, www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms011612.asp
Aaron Hand	na	na	$100,000,000	Indictment of defendant who was already incarcerated for mortgage fraud over trying to pay a hitman to kill one of the witnesses in his fraud trial	na	na	10/6/2011	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Anthony Moya	na	na	$269,722	Defendant pled guilty to obtaining loans for unqualified borrowers and misappropriating $269,722. Indictment against wife dismissed.	na	na	na	Dec. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp“>www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Anthony Pagilone	Colorado’s 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office	na	$350,000	Defendant’s trial was called off while the Pueblo District Attorney’s office changes the criminal complaint., After charges filed alleging defendant obtained a mortgage without homeowner’s knowledge, judge ruled that the charge was filed after five-year statute of limitations expired.	na	na	Nov. 2010	Dec. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp, www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Randolph Branham, Chris Cadenhead, Jackie T. Fair, Jane M. McDonald and Larry J. Malone	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida	$1,200,000	Defendants have pled guilty to bribery tied to Southwest Georgia Farm Credit, ACA.	na	na	na	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp“>www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Robert G. Cusic	United States of America	na	$80,000	Defendant admitted that he conspired to make people believe they were being criminally investigated, mostly by the Internal Revenue Service, and his special relationship with an IRS special agent could make their problems go away at a cost of $20,000.	na	na	na	11/28/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp“>www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Welton Kalani, Stephen Balino	United States of America	na	$227,000	Guilty convictions.	na	na	na	Dec. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal030612.asp“>www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal030612.asp
Jerry J. Williams, Thomas B. Hebble, Angel P. Guerzon, Francesco “Frank” Mileto	na	na	na	Hebble, Guerzon and Lileto sentenced in case tied to failure of Orion Bank.	na	na	March 2011	10/26/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
S. Pope Cleghorn Jr., Russell T. Long	na	na	$2,800,000	Cleghorn was senteced to 6 years for accepting kickbacks to approve two loans for $2.8 million. Long was also sentenced.	na	na	na	11/18/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Joseph W. Traxler	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota	$20,000,000	Centennial Mortgage and Funding CFO pleads guilty.	na	na	na	10/27/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/MctPleaCentennial102711.asp
Gregory T. Smith, Roger Saunders	na	na	$2,165,043	Smith was sentenced to 30 months in prison for fraudulent loan documents, forging signatures, and falsifying title insurance policies. Saunders entered guilty plea.	na	na	na	9/22/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Alma Preciado	Roger and Lourdes Vales	na	$350,000	After pleading guilty, defendant fled to Mexico. She was located and flown back to the U.S. and jailed in September.	na	na	na	Sept. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Andrew Hamilton Williams Jr., Michael Anthony Hickson, Isaac Jerome Smith, Alvita Karen Gunn, Carole Nelson and Charlotte Melissa Josephine Hardmon	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland	$78,000,000	Defendants Williams, Hickson, Smith and Gunn were convicted of running a fraudulent investment business and operating a Ponzi scheme. Nelson and Hardmon have pleaded guilty in the case.	na	na	na	11/10/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
David A. Nilsen, Manoel Errico	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California	$69,828,833	Guilty plea for Nilsen, who founded Cedar Funding.	na	na	na	10/24/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationInvestor122611.asp
Matthew Kent, David Rubin, Joshua Gould	na	na	$1,200,000	Kent pleaded guilty to convincing a retired investor to put up $1.2 million to be used as collateral for operations in return for monthly interest payments. But the funds were used for operating expenses, personal expenses and investments.	na	na	na	11/21/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp“>www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Metropolitan Grapevine LLC, Andrew H. Williams, Laveda Whitfield	Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler	U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland	$55,000	Trial began on a cease-and-desist order for an alleged Ponzi scheme	na	na	11/1/2011	11/1/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Nicodemo S. Scarfo, Salvatore Pelullo (13 total)	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey	na	Indictment unsealed. Alleged crime family extracted millions of dollars from FirstPlus Financial Group Inc.	na	na	na	11/1/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationInvestor122611.asp
Wesley Alvin Snyder, Sydney Snyder	State of Pennsylvania	na	$28,675,731	Judgment entered agasint OPFM president and spouse.	na	na	na	Dec. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationInvestor122611.asp
Monroe L. Beachy	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio	$16,800,000	Defendant indicted over allegations he defrauded nearly 2,700 investors through his company, A&M Investments. U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson entered a “not guilty” plea on behalf of defendant.	na	na	9/14/2011	10/27/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Ebrahim Shabudin, Thomas Yu	na	na	na	Defendants indicted in connection with United Commercial Bank’s failure by conspiring to commit securities fraud, falsifying corporate books and records, and lying to auditors	na	na	na	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Mark Alan Helsing	na	na	$6,900,000	Defendant was sentenced to 15 years prison for stealing $6.9 million from 12 investors in a Ponzi and real estate fraud scheme. His companies were Sea View Investments, HLHS Financial Services Inc., Foothill Realty and Sea View Mortgage.	na	na	na	12/16/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp, www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Larry K. Shackelford	na	na	na	Guilty plea.	na	na	na	Dec. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal030612.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal030612.asp
Manuel Garcia	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico	$585,244	Guilty plea from owner of Keyworth Mortgage Funding Group for deceiving First Community Bank.	United States of America, Plaintiff, vs. Manuel Garcia, Defendant	1:11-cr-01530-BB	6/7/2011	10/14/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationSecondary012612.asp
Donna Shebetich	na	na	$7,000,000	Defendant was sentenced to 72 months prison for lying about Metropolitan Savings Bank’s delinquent loans.	na	na	na	11/18/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
John Andrew Portik	na	St. Lucie County Circuit Court	na	After pleading no contest to making bomb threat against American Home Mortgage Servicing employee, defendant filed civil suit against servicer over allegations of defamation, abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress.	na	na	9/15/2011	na	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Matthew Skinner	na	U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina	na	Defendant pled guilty to to personally accepting payments on mortgage loans	na	na	na	10/27/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Rocky Prasad, Prestige Loans Corp.	na	Santa Clara County Superior Court	$66,000	Defendant pled guilty to operating Prestige without a lending or business license, stealing up-front costs of $66,000 from two borrowers and falsely advertising on Prestige’s website a successful 20-year history.	na	na	na	11/21/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp
Joshua Brown, John Sweetland, Brian Arrington, Brian Frank, Linda Defeo and Bruce Namenson	na	Suffolk Superior Court	$12,500,000,	Brown was convicted, co-defendants pleaded guilty. Sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 10.	na	na	na	11/10/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Daniel J. Nichter	na	Franklin County (Ohio)	$26,000	Guilty plea.	na	na	Dec. 2010	Nov. 2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/MctFraudAppraiser011412.asp
Royce Lee Newcomb	United States of America	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California	$2,900,000	Defendant was sentenced to 70 months in prison for allegedly operating a $2.9 million Ponzi scheme, marketing foreclosure rescue services through Paradigm Foreclosure Specialists, collecting between $1,300 and $3,800 from distressed borrowers and filing serial bankruptcy petitions without supporting documentation	na	na	na	9/29/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationForeclosureFirms112111.asp
David Findel	na	na	$11,994,000	Defendant sentenced to 2 years in prison for bankruptcy fraud following a 63-month sentence for mortgage and secondary fraud.	na	na	na	12/12/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal122011.asp, www.mortgagedaily.com/LitigationCriminal103111.asp
Moss Adams	Meridian Mortgage	King County Superior Court	$150,000,000	Defendant is accused of issuing fraudulent audit reports, which allowed a ponzi scheme to continue	na	na	12/5/2011	12/5/2011	www.mortgagedaily.com/MctLawsuitMeridian120811.asp