The owner of an Illinois brokerage firm potentially faces up to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to her role in a $10 million fraud scheme.
Dorothy Kawa, owner of Northwest Fidelity Mortgage Corp., pleaded to federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, the FBI and other officials recently announced.
The charges are part of a 37-count indictment that was handed down by a federal grand jury in April 2004 charging 11 individuals with wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. The indictment alleges the individuals duped several banks and other lenders out of millions by conducting fraudulent real estate closings.
Kawa admitted she arranged loans for individuals who were acting as “straw” buyers, or individuals recruited to pose as legitimate buyers, for properties so the leaders of the scheme could keep the loan proceeds, officials said.
The indictment alleges the stolen funds were laundered in a variety of ways, including having title companies issue the checks to third parties and then depositing the checks into their bank accounts, according to an announcement.
The wire fraud count carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, a maximum fine of $1 million, and restitution, while the money laundering count carries penalties of up to 20 years of imprisonment, a maximum $250,000 fine and restitution.
The sentence hearing for the 36-year-old woman will take place Aug. 26, 2006.
Five other defendants in the case have pled guilty, including Julita Uramowda, who was a loan officer for P&I Financial Group and admitted she knowingly arranged financing for a straw buyer of one of the properties involved in the scam. The case of one of the five defendants has been severed from the rest of the cases because of poor health, while the other four defendants have sentencing hearings scheduled for September and October.
