Sunday, March 18, 2007

Florida Feds Get Guilty Pleas On Two In "Operation Whose House"

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, Florida obtained guilty pleas this past week from Megan McGuire and Christine A. Brown, two members of an alleged 11 person mortgage fraud ring indicted in November, in connection with an investigation referred to as "Operation Whose House" by Federal investigators.

Authorities decribed the operation as a complex mortgage fraud scheme involving more than thirty (30) properties bought and sold in Broward County. The fraud resulted in the issuance of approximately $10,000,000 in mortgage loans.

According to authorities, the defendants devised a scheme to enrich themselves by obtaining mortgages from lenders using straw purchasers and through the submission of false documentation, including false loan applications, false employment verification forms, false salary statements, and false bank account statements reflecting high account balances. The defendants also used and caused others to use false or stolen Florida’s driver’s licenses, identification cards, and social security numbers as their personal identification at closings to purchase property in the names of individuals whose identification documents had been previously stolen.

To read more, see:
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