Friday, November 21, 2008

Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty In Foreclosure Rescue, Transfer Tax Evasion Schemes

In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reports:
  • A 64-year-old Las Vegas man, Mathew Marion, pleaded guilty [Thursday] morning to a mortgage fraud scam. [...] The investigation revealed that between July 2007 and November 2007, Marion falsely told homeowners facing foreclosure that he would buy their houses and land in Clark County for a price that equaled the sum of the outstanding mortgages, together with a small cash payment, and promised that he would pay off the mortgages to prevent the properties from going into foreclosure.

Reportedly, the investigation also uncovered a scheme designed to allow Marion to conceal his identity and avoid paying transfer taxes to the county.(1)

For more, see Las Vegas man pleads guilty to mortgage loan scam.

For the Nevada Attorney General press release, see Attorney General Announces Guilty Plea In Mortgage Loan Scam.

(1) According to the story, Marion was sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine to the state and ordered that he pay restitution to Clark County of $89,990.60 for property transfer taxes that were owed on properties. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim homeowners in the amount of $43,009.40. The total restitution payment is $130,000. He reportedly pleaded guilty to nine gross misdemeanor counts of making false representations on titles and one count of gross misdemeanor of making a fraudulent conveyance in connection with a mortgage foreclosure rescue scam, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said.