Miami Feds Bag Wells Fargo Loan Officer, Dozen Others In Alleged $16.9M Mortgage Fraud Racket

In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• Federal officials have charged 13 individuals in an alleged elaborate $16.9 million mortgage fraud scheme targeting sales of luxury condominimum units in downtown Miami and single family homes in Coral Gables, according to an unsealed superseding indictment. According to court documents, the fraud ring – which included a real estate broker and a Wells Fargo Bank loan officer – recruited "straw" buyers to make fradulent loan applications to Wells Fargo, inflating their salary and deposit figures so they could qualify for loans in excess of $1 million. At closing, those charged then diverted millions by skimming the difference between the inflated purchase price and what actually was paid to the seller, officials said.

For more, see Thirteen charged in Miami luxury condo mortgage fraud scheme.

For the U.S. Attorney (Miami, Florida) press release, see Thirteen Mortgage Fraud Defendants Indicted In $16.9 Million Bank Fraud Scheme Involving High End Condominium Units.