Colorado Regulators Target Two Mortgage Brokers In Alleged Scheme To Pocket $80+K Of Client's Refinancing Proceeds

In Denver, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain News reports on an administrative enforcement action initiated by the Colorado Division of Real Estate against mortgage brokers Laura Ann Stearnes and Stephen Angelo Benaske in which the division seeks license revocation for both:

• The division alleges that Stearnes, while working with an out-of-state client she apparently met through an online dating service, fraudulently redirected the client’s refinancing proceeds of $80,890.38. Stearnes instructed the title company, First Integrity Title Agency, to wire the funds into an account owned by Benaske, who was Stearnes’ boyfriend. Benaske owns Broadway Mortgage Corp. in Denver.

• During the investigation, Stearnes admitted to using $24,000 of the borrower’s funds to pay off an auto loan for her Mercedes-Benz, the division said. The division also alleges that Benaske admitted to using $12,500 of the funds to pay for the development of his mortgage company’s Web site.

For more, see State acts against two mortgage brokers.

Go here for temporary suspension order - Laura Ann Stearnes.