Long Island DA Announces Ongoing Mortgage Fraud Probe; Nets 27 Suspects To Date Involving $9M In Mortgages

In Hauppauge, New York:

• Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota [last Thursday] announced the arrests of 27 suspects thus far in an ongoing investigation of mortgage fraud that has found nine million dollars in fraudulent mortgages and equity thefts secured with non-existent and overstated assets by scammers to obtain fraudulent mortgages.

Among those recently charged by the DA were mortgage brokers John Tuozzo, 43, of Merrick, and Steven Winick, 40, of Syosset and former Citibank employee Yvonne Rojas, 30, of Brentwood. According to the DA's press release:

• Tuozzo and Winick are alleged to have used false documents provided by Rojas, including phony verifications of bank balances, to get their clients qualified for mortgages. To date, DA Spota said, mortgage fraud unit detectives have found evidence involving Rojas in 96 fraudulent mortgage schemes and the issuance of false verifications of deposit for over a dozen different mortgage brokers. Rojas, Winnick and Tuozzo are charged with falsifying business records in the first Degree and issuing false financial statements.

For the Suffolk County DA's press release, see 27 arrests, nine indictments in ongoing Suffolk mortgage fraud probe.