North Carolina Feds Indict Six In Alleged Mortgage Fraud Scheme Involving $15M In Loans On 270 Properties

In North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reports:

• A federal indictment alleges mortgage fraud schemes in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties involving appraisers, lawyers, mortgage brokers, builders and investors and at least $15 million in loans on 270 properties. The indictment, charging six people and listing others as unindicted "co-conspirators," alleges a web of players, from companies accused of lying about homebuyers' income to builders who allegedly paid kickbacks. A subsidiary of Atlanta builder Beazer Homes and a local builder are included as unindicted co-conspirators. The indictments refer to them only by code names; the Observer used public records to identify them. The indictment, which details transactions from 2000 to 2004, elaborates on four alleged scams. The allegations, with names such as the "Flip Scheme" and the "Builder Kickback Scheme," are detailed through 19 home sales.

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• Two of the six defendants were indicted last year in this same mortgage fraud case. Victoria Sprouse and broker Michael Pahutski face previous charges of bank fraud conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering. Sprouse and Pahutski, both of Charlotte, now face new charges. [...] The new defendants are a Mooresville appraiser R. Michael Gee, Charlotte mortgage broker Jules A. Springs and two Charlotte real estate agents, Gregory A. Mascaro and Gregory D. Rankin.

Sprouse, a Charlotte real estate lawyer, was found liable in a 2007 civil mortgage fraud case and ordered to pay $746,983.

For more, see Indictment alleges web of mortgage fraud (6 people charged in cases involving loans on 270 area properties).

Go here for The Players Who was accused? (Six indicted and 11 unindicted co-conspirators).

See also, The Associated Press: Federal indictment charges in mortgage scheme (A $15 million mortgage fraud scheme in the Charlotte area has spawned more criminal charges).

Go here for other posts on this case.