Final Defendant Goes Down In Scam Using Rent To Own Racket To Lure, Rip Off Investors, Would-Be Homebuyers On 100+ Homes That Ended Up In Foreclosure

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Portland, Oregon):

• Jennifer Venable, 29, of Beaverton, Oregon, was sentenced by the Honorable Robert E. Jones of the United States District Court on June 8, 2011, to 5 years probation and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution relative to her January 13, 2011 wire fraud conviction.

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• Ms. Venable’s sentencing brings to an end the prosecutions related to the conduct of Jeremy Richardson and his company, Richardson Equities LLC. Richardson’s company ran a “rent-to-own” scheme that promised high profits to investors who purchased homes on behalf of tenants who agreed to purchase the home from the investor at a price greater than the original purchase price when their credit improved.
• To effect the scheme, the investor would apply for a residential mortgage using inflated asset and income information and lie about the true nature of the loan. Richardson and his associates purchased over 100 homes in the Portland area valued in excess of $35 million.
• In every case, Richardson and his investors failed to maintain their financial obligations and the properties fell into foreclosure.(1)

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Sentencing of Real Estate Agent Concludes Prosecution of Mortgage Fraud Scheme.

(1) According to the press release, on May 4, 2010, Jeremy Richardson was sentenced to 37 months in federal custody following his guilty plea to money laundering. In addition to Richardson and Venable, others involved in the rent-to own scheme involved:

• Nicolas Cooper of Portland, Oregon, who was sentenced to a term of 5 years probation and ordered to pay $102,058 in restitution on May 23, 2011,
• Andrew Paul Shute of Seattle Washington, who was sentenced to 5 years of probation and ordered to pay $61,332 in restitution following his plea of guilty to wire fraud related to his activities as a mortgage broker on behalf of Richardson; and
• Tyler Jacob Marsten of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was sentenced to 5 years probation and ordered to pay $39,549 in restitution following his conviction for bank fraud related to his activities as a mortgage broker on behalf of Richardson.