S. Florida Lawyer Gets Jail Time For Hijacking $1.6M In Real Estate Closing Funds Earmarked For Mortgage Loan Payoffs; Title Insurer Left Holding Bag

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

• Hollywood title attorney Peter N. Price has been sentenced to almost four years in jail, and ordered to pay $1.7 million to Stewart Title Guarantee Inc. regarding allegations that he embezzled $1.6 million in loan proceeds.

• Federal and state investigators said Price took the money, earmarked for paying off mortgage loans for clients, from his Intracoastal Title Services Inc. escrow account for real estate closings he was handling. Instead of doing the payoffs, Price prepared and sent false federal real estate forms, stating the loans had been paid, according to court documents.

• Price was charged with making false statements to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Cohn in Miami.

Source: Hollywood title attorney gets four years after embezzling $1.6 million.