Brooklyn Feds Indict Eleven In Alleged Straw Buyer, Contract Flipping Mortgage Fraud Scam; $14M Fraudulently Obtained, Say Cops

In Brooklyn, New York, Newsday reports:

• Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged 11 people yesterday in a mortgage fraud scheme that ripped off more than $14 million from banks and mortgage companies using fake buyers, officials said. The 11 defendants include real estate agents, mortgage brokers and two attorneys, as well as a number of so-called "straw buyers," who were used as fronts to buy rundown properties through fraudulent mortgage applications, investigators said. According to the indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, the straw buyers were recruited by the alleged organizers of the scheme, Vijay Anand Khemraj, 29, and Robert Rodriguez, 28.

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• The straw buyers did not make mortgage payments on the houses or even take possession of the dwellings, according to the indictment. [...] The indictment identified Frantz Metellus, 36, and Robert B. Baker, 41, as the two attorneys who allegedly allowed their trust accounts to receive the mortgage proceeds.

For more, see 11 people charged in $14M mortgage fraud scheme.

See also, U.S.Attorney Press Release.