Ohio Prosecutor Announces Two Arrests In Home Equity Theft Cases

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason has gotten off to a pretty fast start this year with real estate related fraud prosecutions as he announced two more indictments today, running up his totals to at two cases a month this year, involving 98 defendants, according to a story on The Plain Dealer blog, at blog.cleveland.com. The charges this year involve fraud cases totaling over $5 million in loans and 47 houses in 14 communities, according to the prosecutor's office.

Today's announcement involves two cases alleging blatant thefts of the victims' homes.

In one case, mortgage people Sammy Quick and Brian Cicerchi were allegedly approached by one victim interested in refinancing her home. They are accused of tricking her out of her title, stealing $56,000 in home equity, and then attempting to evict her.

In another case, Willard Horne Jr. of Norfolk, Virginia is accused of conning an 87-year-old Cleveland woman out of her home and $85,000.

For all the details, see Cuyahoga prosecutor presses predatory lending cases.
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