Tampa Broker Continues Dancing Thru Mortgage Fraud Raindrops

In Tampa, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:

• A few months ago, a state investigator visited mortgage broker Dominic Ferrara to discuss a case of mortgage fraud. An Oregon man's identity had been stolen and his Social Security number used to obtain a mortgage. Ferrara handled the loan. But it wasn't just any loan. It was a 100 percent mortgage for a home that Ferrara's girlfriend was selling. She ended up getting $229,000 for a home valued today at $165,000.

• After prosecutors gave Ferrara immunity, he admitted that he falsified a key part of the loan application. The buyer, a handyman with a lengthy criminal record, ended up charged with three felonies. But Ferrara came out smelling like a rose. Again. Again, because Ferrara has come to the attention of investigators before.

For more on the details of this and other mortgage fraud investigations in which Ferrara's name came up (including one involving the now-jailed notorious fraudster Matthew B. Cox), see ID theft gins up house loan (The thief gets to keep the home, and the Tampa broker is unscathed - again).

Editor's Note:

According to the story, it was a Florida state prosecutor (as opposed to a Federal prosecutor) that granted Ferrara immunity from prosecution. Unless I'm mistaken, state prosecutors can only grant immunity from prosecution in connection with violations of state criminal statutes (and not Federal criminal statutes - ie. mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, etc.). If so, the FBI may have him on their radar. For Ferrara's sake, I hope I'm wrong.