Veteran Fraudster Gets 97 Months For Running Realty Scams; Bogus Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Deals Among Rackets Resulting In $1M+ In Losses

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (New Jersey):

• A Phoenixville, Pa., man was sentenced to 97 months in prison [...] for his leadership role in operating two Ponzi schemes upon members of a Toms River church, which resulted in total losses of more than $1 million, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced. U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez also ordered Terence Mayfield, 47, to serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison term.

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• According to the Information, Mayfield operated two frauds from November 2006 through July 2008. In Count One, Mayfield is charged with mail fraud in connection with his scheme to defraud numerous members of The Church of Grace and Peace of more than $1 million through a phony real estate investment scheme.

• Count Two charges Mayfield with wire fraud relating to his scheme to defraud three sets of homeowners, who participated in three “foreclosure bailouts” purportedly involving two properties in Georgia and one in Pennsylvania, of more than $75,000.(1)

For the entire U.S. Attorney press release, see Phoenixville, Pa., Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Federal Prison for Operating Ponzi Schemes Upon Members of a Toms River Church.

See also, The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. man sentenced to prison for Ponzi scheme at church:

• This was not Mayfield's first fraudulent venture. In 2005, he was sentenced to two years' probation for a Ponzi scheme in Philadelphia in which eight victims reported losing $198,000, Smith said. In October, he was indicted on securities-fraud charges in Delaware, accused of taking money from two investors who had trusted him with a combined $225,000, state Deputy Attorney General Greg Strong said.

(1) The press release states that, in regards the foreclosure rescue scam, Mayfield admitted that he solicited potential investors to invest in the program he referred to as “foreclosure bailouts.” To induce these individuals to invest in this program, Mayfield explained that the investor would buy the home of a homeowner who was at risk of foreclosure and then lease the home back to the homeowner for a two-year period. The homeowner would then use a portion of the proceeds to pay the investor an “investment fee” and Mayfield a “broker’s fee.” Additionally, the homeowner would place two years’ worth of rent payments into an escrow account, which would be maintained by Mayfield, as a security deposit. At the end of the two-year period, Mayfield explained, the homeowner would have the opportunity to repurchase the home from the investor.

Mayfield made substantially the same representations to homeowners with a significant exception: That the escrow account funds would not serve as security for the investor, but rather would be “drawn down” on a monthly basis and used to pay the homeowner’s monthly rent payments. Mayfield admitted he did not maintain the funds in escrow, but instead pocketed the funds for his own benefit.