Builder Settles Alleged Pocono Fraud Case With Pennsylvania AG
The dream of home ownership turned into a nightmare for many aspiring homeowners, who bought homes at inflated prices and, unable to sell or refinance their mortgages, ended up in foreclosure and bankruptcy. In 2001, allegations that Percudani engaged in corrupt practices drew the attention of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the nation's quasi-governmental suppliers of mortgage funding. Their subsequent investigations revealed that the homes were overpriced by as much as $80,000, and resulted in Percudani being placed on their exclusionary list, which virtually barred him from the lending business.
Reportedly, Freddie Mac also forced Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp., which financed Percudani's loans, to ''write down'' more than 200 mortgages at a cost of $8 million. Percudani, who escaped criminal prosecution when a statewide investigative grand jury declined to indict him in 2005, remains the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging he conspired with Chase Manhattan Mortgage to defraud nearly 100 home buyers. That suit, which is scheduled to go to trial in Scranton early next year, is the only hope for restitution, according to Harley, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania AG's office.
For more, see State ends part of Poconos fraud case (Home builder agrees to pay $250,000 and a ban from mortgage work).
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