N. Virginia Real Estate Agent Charged In Scam Involving $50M+ In Fraudulently Obtained Loans, 100+ Homebuyers; Suspect May Have Left Country, Say Cops

In Loudoun County, Virginia, the Loudoun Independent reports:

• An Ashburn real estate agent stands accused to profiting from falsifying financial documents to enable clients to qualify for homes they could not afford. Real estate agent Diane Atari, an Ashburn native, has been indicted by the Grand Jury of Loudoun County for ten counts of False Statement to Obtain Credit, one count of Racketeering and one count of Money Laundering. Atari, 42, is accused of fraudulently fixing clients’ credit and inflating their income on financial records – enabling them to be approved for higher credit so these clients could buy homes they could not otherwise afford. Many of the clients were unable to satisfy the high monthly payments and were later forced into foreclosure.

• Atari allegedly obtained more than $1 million in commissions through this scheme and took advantage of more than 100 potential homebuyers, most of whom had bad credit. The total loss on the fraudulently obtained mortgages is estimated to be more than $50 million, said Kraig Troxell, public information officer for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The long-term effect is going to be huge, investigators said.

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• Authorities believe Atari left the country last week and is possibly in Jordan, where her ex-husband has family. Local law enforcement has contacted INTERPOL to assist in locating Atari. Investigators have not made direct contact with Atari since she broke the lease on her house five months ago.

For more, see Real Estate Agent Indicted for Falsifying Credit Documents (Over 50 Million May Have Been Lost).

For the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office press release, see Loudoun Woman Indicted In $50 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme.