Ohio House Flipper Gets 2 Years For Using Phony Docs To Scam HUD

In Columbus, Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:

• A former Bexley real-estate agent who made millions selling homes in the Hilltop and North Linden areas using false credit documents was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison. Steven E. Winter, 45, was convicted of filing a false federal income-tax return and using false documents to defraud a federal housing agency. Winter sold more than 170 properties from 1997 to 2004 at an average markup of 85 percent. He was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge John D. Holschuh to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

***

• Winter attracted many low-income, first-time buyers with ads reading "$500 GETS KEYS." Dozens of the homebuyers ended up in foreclosure. Of those, 22 bought homes with mortgages guaranteed by HUD. As a result, HUD's insurance has paid lenders more than $1.6 million when Winter's buyers defaulted. In a 2004 Dispatch story, several buyers said Winter had altered their loan applications and that they paid far more than the homes' appraised values.

For more, see House flipper sentenced for fraud.