Staten Island DA Charges Title Agency Owners With Looting Real Estate Escrow Account, Illegally Pocketing $1M+ In Funds Belonging To Others

From the Office of the Richmond County, New York District Attorney:

• Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today announced that Joseph DeVito and his wife, Mary Ann Palladino-DeVito [...] have been arraigned on an indictment alleging that from 2002-2004 they embezzled over $1 million from homeowners seeking to clear titles, as well as their franchise’s parent company.

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• The defendants, [...] are accused of a top count of Grand Larceny in the 1st Degree, a Class B felony, punishable by a maximum penalty of up to 25 years in prison. District Attorney Donovan stated, "As part of this mortgage fraud scheme, these defendants are alleged to have victimized new homeowners and their franchiser by accepting payment for mortgage fees, mortgage taxes, customer fees, real property filing fees, and escrow account funds and then misappropriating the funds for their own purposes. They are also alleged to have failed to file any tax returns to the State of the New York, depriving our state of essential funds for services such as healthcare and education." The District Attorney further stated that the defendants were franchisees of Fidelity National Title, a Jacksonville, Florida based title insurance company.

For the Staten Island DA's press release, see D.A. Donovan: Two Former S.I. Residents Accused of $1 Million Real Estate Title Fraud, Tax Evasion (Joseph Devito, 39, & Mary Ann Palladino-DeVito, 41, Accused of Embezzling Over $1 Million from Customers & Title Insurance Company, Face up to 25Years in Prison).

For the indictment, see People v. Palladino, Devito.

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