Sentencing Wraps Up In "Money Store" Scam Prosecution; Bogus Sale Leasebacks Used To Strip Equity From Unwitting Homeowners Seeking Foreclosure Help

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Greenbelt, Maryland):

• U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Jennifer McCall, age 48, the Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Money Store, of Fort Washington, Maryland, to 135 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit, [...].(1) Judge Titus also entered a judgement ordering McCall to pay restitution of $16,880,884.86. Judge Titus also sentenced co-conspirator Wilbur Ballesteros,(2) age 34, of Lanham, Maryland to 63 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release and sentenced Ronald Aaron Chapman, Jr.,(3) age 35, of Washington, D.C., to seven days in prison, 10 months of home detention with electronic monitoring and five years of supervised release. Both men previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for their roles in the scheme. Judge Titus also entered judgements ordering that Ballesteros and Chapman pay restitution of $16,859,950 and $268,279.66, respectively.(4)

For the entire U.S. Attorney press release, see CEO of Metropolitan Money Store Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison and Two Other Conspirators Sentenced in $37 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme.

(1) McCall was originally scheduled for sentencing on November 16. That court date was marked by an incident in which her son, Raymond V. Jones, allegedly called federal prosecutor James Crowell a “coward” and “mother f*cker” and then threatened to kill him, before he jumped over the barrier dividing the gallery and the courtroom well and hit Crowell in the head, according to court documents. Crowell’s head was swollen after the alleged attack, the court records said. For a report on this incident, see MainJustice: Court Records: Man Punches, Threatens To Kill AUSA (requires free registration; alternatively, try here - then click link for the story). Read the criminal complaint against Jones here and a court motion, which describes his alleged attack on the federal prosecutor in greater detail, here.

(2) Ballesteros, a licensed real estate agent who served as a closing agent on more than 60 straw buyer properties, pocketed more than $100,000 in kickback payments to process real estate closings quickly, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

(3) Chapman, hired to work as a loan officer, pocketed at least $66,000 in commissions that he was aware were probably the proceeds of fraud, but he deliberately avoided learning the truth as to the fraudulent nature of the funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

(4) Ten defendants, including a lawyer, mortgage broker, real estate agent, loan processor and company officers have pleaded guilty in this scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. In addition to the three defendants named above, the other seven are:

• Joy Jackson, age 41, of Fort Washington, Maryland, and President of the Metropolitan Money Store - 151 months in prison;
• Kurt Fordham (Jackson’s husband), age 39, of Fort Washington, Maryland - 10 years in prison;
• Richard Allison, age 38, of Camp Springs, Maryland, an attorney - 18 months in prison;
• Carlisha Dixon, age 32, of Hyattsville, Maryland - five months in prison and five months home detention;
• Clifford McCall (Jennifer McCall’s husband), age 48, of Lanham, Maryland - four years in prison;
• Chandra Jones (Jennifer McCall’s daughter), age 31, of Lanham, Maryland, - 33 months in prison;
• Katisha Fordham (Kurt Fordham’s sister), 1 day in prison, followed by five months home detention and five months supervised release. foreclosure rescue equity stripping