Ohio Loan Review Specialist Uncovers Florida Straw Buyer Mortgage Fraud; Nine Charged

In Alachua County, Florida, The Gainseville Sun reports:

• A loan review specialist in Ohio uncovered a $2.4 million Florida mortgage fraud conspiracy allegedly led by a Marion County man with ties to Alachua County and four other Florida counties.(1) Nine people have been charged and each faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement ["FDLE"] and Office of Statewide Prosecution announced the arrests on Tuesday afternoon.

• Investigators said 17 homes in Marion County are still standing empty as a result of a complex scheme controlled by alleged ringleader William H. King, 52, of Silver Springs, and his ex-wife, Beverly Ann King, 52, of Jacksonville. The Kings and seven others were each charged with criminal racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, also known as RICO.(2)

For more, see Nine charged with being part of $2.4 million mortgage fraud ring (The group was charged in connection with 17 mortgage loans).

(1) According to the story, the situation was uncovered in February 2007 when the loan review specialist in Ohio recognized red flags in paperwork that crossed his desk. For example, the man noted that one couple obtained five mortgages from five different lenders in four days. The man alerted FDLE and an investigation was launched into the Kings' transactions between 2004 and 2006.

(2) According to an FDLE assistant special agent, like any organization, a mortgage fraud ring requires "a lot of people to get the job done - mortgage brokers, notary publics, people working in a title company, people who are appraisers. It takes all of these people to get a loan through. And what these people did was work together to deceive the mortgage lenders."