Former Motown Cop, Tax Assessor Charged By Detroit Feds In Alleged Flipping Scam Involving 35+ Homes

In Detroit, Michigan, The Detroit News reports:

• A former Detroit police officer and a city appraiser are among three defendants named in a $2.1 million mortgage fraud and real estate "flipping" indictment announced Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit.(1) More than 35 Detroit homes were "flipped" -- sold and quickly resold based on inflated appraisals -- as part of the scheme between 2004 and 2006, the indictment alleges. The indictment details close to $600,000 in fraudulent loans allegedly taken out on nine Detroit properties and alleges conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud.

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• In many of the transactions, Greene bought dilapidated properties, obtained fraudulently inflated appraisals, and arranged for "straw buyers" such as Danyell Robinson to obtain the fraudulent mortgages, the indictment alleges. The loans were not repaid and many of the homes went into foreclosure, the indictment alleges.

For more, see Former Detroit officer among those accused in mortgage scheme.

In other recent straw buyer, flipping fraud indictments obtained by the Detroit Feds, see:

• Four Indicted By Federal Grand Jury For Mortgage Fraud (According to the DOJ press release, Hassan Nagi, 30, of Dearborn Heights, Ali Haidous, 24, of Dearborn, Safi Bzeih, 35, of Dearborn, and Hussein Aoun, 23, of Dearborn Heights conspired to secure fraudulent mortgages on 16 properties between April 2005 and April 2008. The value of the mortgages totaled $1.9 million.),

• Detroit Resident Indicted On Mortgage Fraud (According to the DOJ press release, Nishon Johnson, 37, of Detroit, a loan originator, and others were allegedly involved in a scheme to defraud mortgage companies. After buying a single-family house, Johnson allegedly recruited a buyer to purchase the house at an inflated value. As alleged in the indictment, Johnson submitted false loan applications to the mortgage companies which overstated the borrower's income, and understated his liabilities. In one case, the alleged borrower was not even aware of the loan, and his signatures were forged.).

(1) Named as defendants are: Pierre Greene, 27, who was a Detroit police officer at the time of the alleged offenses; Jacque Miller, 37, who is Greene's uncle and worked as a city of Detroit appraiser and tax assessor; and Sandy Robinson, 50, an associate of Greene's. Cities of residence for the defendants were not available Friday from the U.S. Attorney's Office. It was not clear whether Jacque is still employed with the city. Danyell Johnson, who is Greene's sister-in-law, was charged separately in the case. Her age and place of residence were not available Friday.