Minnesota Foreclosure Rescue Scammer Cops Plea To Mail Fraud

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Shakopee Valley News reports:

• Michael Fiorito, 39, of Prior Lake pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in federal court on Tuesday in connection with contriving schemes to skim equity from financially distressed and vulnerable homeowners. Fiorito, who was a mortgage broker, and his assistant, Kristen Louise Jerde, 21, of Eagan, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, three counts of mail fraud and engaging in a financial transaction with criminally derived property in federal court on June 20. The charges alleged that Fiorito and Jerde sought out and contacted vulnerable homeowners who were in foreclosure or behind on their payments, encouraged the homeowners to refinance or sell their homes and then stole some or all of the proceeds using a variety of schemes. [...] Jerde is expected to enter a plea [this week] in federal court in St. Paul.

In one deal, Fiorito convinced a Duluth woman to sell her home to him as part of a sale and leaseback arrangement to prevent the sheriff’s sale of the home. Upon the closing of the sale, Fiorito intercepted the woman’s equity check for the amount of $36,061.38. Fiorito forged her signature on the delivery receipt and claimed the FedEx envelope that contained the check.
Fiorito coerced the woman into endorsing the equity check to him. He wrote her a check for $2,200, falsely representing the equity in her home after paying him her first month’s rent- stealing $33,861.38. For more, see Prior Lake man pleads guilty in home equity schemes.

For a copy of the grand jury charges, see Indictment - U.S. vs. Fiorito & Jerde.

For other media reports on this guilty plea, see:

• Broker pleads guilty in foreclosure scam case, (Pioneer Press),
• Broker pleads guilty in equity-skimming case (The indictment said he and another broker -- expected also to plead guilty -- stripped $160,000 in equity from six homeowners) (Minneapolis Star Tribune).

Go here for other posts on this case.

For more on equity stripping scams, generally, see DREAMS FORECLOSED: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes Through Equity-stripping Foreclosure 'Rescue' Scams (4.61 MB approx.).