Straw Buyer Cops Plea In Alleged DC-Area Mortgage Fraud Scam Involving 25 Homes; Two Others Face Charges

The D.C. Examiner reports:

• Federal authorities say they’ve broken a nearly $5 million real estate scheme in which several suspects allegedly filed false mortgage documents so they could buy about 25 properties in the Washington area, only to let many slip into foreclosure.

• So far, at least one member of the scheme, Sabrina Weinberg of Bethesda, has pleaded guilty to mail fraud for buying seven properties between February and October 2006. Weinberg bought the homes using $4.6 million in mortgage loans obtained by filing fraudulent loan applications, court documents filed in Maryland’s federal court said.

• At least two other suspects, Terrence White and Timothy Reed, have been charged with mail fraud for their alleged roles. Four other suspects are alluded to in charging documents, but their names are not included. According to prosecutors, Reed and White would entice straw buyers such as Weinberg by offering them $10,000 per property purchase to lie on loan applications.

For more, see 1 convicted, 2 charged in $5 million false mortgage document scheme.

For story update, see U.S. Attorney's press release: A Beltsville Leader In Mortgage Fraud Scheme Pleads Guilty (Paid Over 15 Straw Purchasers and Used False Documents to Buy 25 Properties; Received Over $3.8 Million in Fraud Proceeds).