Closing Attorney Gets 18 Months For Pocketing $500K+ In Clients' Refinancing Proceeds Intended To Pay Off Existing Mortgages

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Buffalo, New York):

• U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced [] that Robert R. Goods, 49, of Snyder, N.Y., who was convicted of bank fraud, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $521,800 restitution by Chief U.S. District Court William P. Skretny.

• Assistant U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross, who handled the case, stated that Goods, a mortgage settlement attorney, misused money wired into his business account to pay off mortgages on properties which had been refinanced at SunTrust Bank.

• For example, in February 2010, SunTrust Bank wired $423,531 into the defendant's business account to pay off a preexisting mortgage, however, Goods instead used that money for other matters.

• In another instance, in March 2010, SunTrust Bank wired $128,000 into the defendant's business account to pay off the pre-existing mortgage, but once again, he used the money for other things. As a result of the defendant's actions, SunTrust Bank suffered a loss of $521, 872. 84.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Ex-Attorney Sentenced In Mortgage Fraud Scheme.

Thanks to Bill Collins of Frontier Abstract, Rochester, NY for the heads-up on this story.