BANKRUPT BANKER
San Antonio man was sent to prison for six years and three months after pleading guilty to running a mortgage scam that bilked lenders out of nearly $1.7 million. In February, his wife and partner in crime received a similar sentence.
Two weeks ago, in a separate case, a federal grand jury indicted eight people in a $14 million mortgage fraud ring in the Dallas area. They were accused of setting up straw buyers for homes in upscale neighborhoods at high prices, obtaining inflated loans based on misrepresentations about planned repairs, then paying the original owners and splitting the remaining proceeds among themselves. Then, after making a few payments, they defaulted on the loans.And in March, an East Texas woman was sentenced to 99 years in prison for her involvement in a similar scheme.For Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, whose office prosecuted the last case, mortgage-fraud cases have become so common in Texas that they are worrisome.On Monday, his office will host an all-day mortgage-fraud summit at the AT&T Conference Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Federal, state and local law enforcement officials, as well as representatives from the real estate, insurance and finance industries, are expected to participate."A new study has shown that the fastest growing white-collar (crime) in America now is mortgage fraud," Abbott said. "It has surpassed identity theft, even.
