Federal authorities charged 41 defendants in five separate
mortgage-fraud cases in the Chicago area, alleging the defendants
used schemes that resulted in $48 million in fraudulently obtained
mortgages issued by various lenders.
A total of 37 individuals and four businesses are facing new
federal charges stemming from the cases, according to the
Department of Justice. The individuals include a vice president of
a title company, LaSalle Title Co., mortgage brokers, loan
officers, real estate investors, appraisers and an attorney.
The charges allege the defendants falsely inflated the value of
dilapidated homes in urban areas and include other schemes that
involved million-dollar condominiums in a Chicago high-rises and
sprawling homes in affluent suburbs.
The Department of Justice alleges that as a result of the
various schemes, the lending companies suffered "millions of
dollars in losses after the loans went into default and the
properties were foreclosed upon."
The cases include 10 defendants accused of scheming to
fraudulently obtain loans totaling more than $17.2 million on
various multimillion-dollar condominiums and penthouses, six
defendants accused of using stolen of fictitious identities to
obtain about $3 million in home loans and a chief executive who
allegedly defrauded GMAC Bank out of about $15 million in funding
more than 450 fictitious residential loans.
In another case, LaSalle Title and three other businesses
allegedly schemed to obtain more than $10 million in loans on 70
residential properties in Chicago, resulting in losses totaling
about $5.8 million to various mortgage lenders.
All charges announced Tuesday carry various maximum penalties,
including a $1 million fine on each count of mail and wire fraud if
a financial institution was affected, or 20 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine if there wasn't an impact on financial
institutions.
A representative from LaSalle Title wasn't immediately available
for comment.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5285;
john.kell@dowjones.com