Connecticut Closing Attorney Cops Guilty Plea To Pocketing Loan Proceeds Earmarked For Existing Mortgage Payoffs In Real Estate Deals

In Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Connecticut Post reports:

• Joseph Kriz, a Westport real estate attorney, waived his right to a federal grand jury indictment Monday. He then pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud, aiding and abetting fraud in loan and credit applications, and mail fraud by obtaining money from a title insurance property. The charges stemmed from Kriz and others keeping proceeds from home sales in Darien and Westport and from homes refinanced in Ansonia and Milford.

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• Kriz, 45, of Wilton, is cooperating with an ongoing federal investigation that is expected to lead to criminal charges against other people including one who posed as a home purchaser, a mortgage broker and a property appraiser. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale said at least $8 million was defrauded from homeowners and lenders. This was done by Kriz and others overstating the value of properties; keeping money from home sales and refinancing properties.

For more, see FBI ties state probe to IndyMac woes (if link expires, try here).