Alabama Feds Gets Gulity Plea In Mortgage Fraud; $9 Million In Losses, Says FBI

(modified 8-17-07)
The Alabama Press-Register reports that real estate investor Darlene Hill, 50, of Mobile, Alabama, pleaded guilty in a Mobile Federal Court to wire fraud in a mortgage fraud scheme that bilked banking institutions and mortgage companies out of mortgage loan proceeds that resulted in a net loss to the lenders of $9 million, after money recovered from foreclosure sales is factored in. The scam involved was the standard "straw buyer" scam were investors with good credit were recruited and paid a fee for signing their name to bogus loan applications. Reportedly, it was unclear whether those people realized that their conduct was criminal. None of them was charged with a crime.

Other participants in the scam were:

• Mortgage broker Antonio Harrison of Mobile, who has admitted to submitting fraudulent loan applications to Regions Mortgage, loan closer Jocelyn Easter of Mobile, who served as closing agent on most of the fraudulent loans, Kathy Frye of Eight Mile, an office manager at title insurance agency Harris Title, who assisted in the scheme by notarizing signatures of straw buyers even though they did not appear in person for the closings and who also acknowledged that she was was aware that title insurance was not being issued even though funds were allocated for that purpose at the closings.

For more, see Mobilian uses accomplices to bilk mortgage companies.

For copy of indictment, see Indictment - USA vs. Hill, et al.

For story updates, see

• Eight Mile woman gets probation in mortgage fraud case (8-17-07 - Alabama Press-Register),
• Go here for updated posts on this story.