NYC Real Estate Appraiser Faces 397 Count Indictment For Bogus Valuations; Stealing Other Appraisers' I.D.

From the office of the Queens County District Attorney:

• In a 397-count indictment, D & T National Appraisals, Inc., and its CEO, Donato Odato, 54, ... , have been variously charged with second- and third-degree forgery, criminal possession of a forged instrument, first- and second-degree falsifying business records, first- and third-degree identity theft, first-degree scheme to defraud and fifth-degree conspiracy. Odato faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. The corporate defendant faces a fine of up to $10,000 for each felony count conviction or double the amount of the illegal gain.

• [A]ccording to the indictment, Odato ... recruited licensed appraisers over the Internet and offered them positions with his company as part of a ruse to steal their personal identity information. Thereafter, it is alleged he would forge the names of the prospective job seekers on numerous appraisals that he filed in connection with residential mortgage applications.

• It is further alleged that Odato took advantage of the Internet’s anonymity, as well as his own background as a former licensed assistant appraiser, to fraudulently induce lenders and other real estate professionals to use his company’s claimed appraisal services. It is alleged that instead of actually doing the appraisal work, Odato would simply concoct information on real estate values from various sources and then inflate the values to match mortgage applications.

For more, see the Queens County DA Press Release - Queens Real Estate Appraisal Firm And CEO Indicted In Alleged Scheme That Inflated Real Estate Values (Allegedly Stole Identities of Other Appraisers As Part of Scheme).