Two Charged In Alleged South Florida Foreclosure Rescue Scam

In what appears to involve an alleged straw buyer, equity stripping, foreclosure rescue scam, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation announces:

• The Florida Office of Financial Regulation, the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department, and the Office of Statewide Prosecution announce the arrest of two individuals on charges of First Degree-Organized Scheme to Defraud over $1,000,000 from mortgage loan lenders. On Wednesday, March 5, 2008, Curt D. Francis, 37 and Tashina Latouche, 25 were arrested in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

• Curt Francis and Tashina Latouche allegedly participated in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders by providing false mortgage loan applications that included fraudulent employment verification forms, financial statements, and bank records. The applications also included HUD-1 settlement statements that investigators allege falsely stated that the buyers were using their own money to cover the closings. Multiple properties were involved from Broward and Miami-Dade County.

• The scheme allegedly used people’s identity and good credit to obtain mortgages on properties facing foreclosure. Once the mortgages were approved, the properties were quit claimed back to the original owners.

For more, see Two South Florida Residents Arrested For Mortgage Fraud.

For other hits for Curt D. Francis for unlicensed mortgage brokerage, see:

• Order to Cease & Desist - to Curt D. Francis from Georgia Dept. of Banking and Finance,
• Georgia Dept. of Banking and Finance Press Release re: Curt D. Francis,
• Order to Cease & Desist - to Progressive Mortgages 2000, Inc.
• Georgia Dept. of Banking and Finance Press Release re: Progressive Mortgages 2000, Inc.