Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Honolulu Woman Admits Role In Racket That Recorded Fraudulent Lien Satisfactions On Mortgage-Encumbered Homes Before Flipping Them Onto Unwitting Buyers, Illegally Pocketing $3.1M+

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Honolulu, Hawaii):
  • Jennifer McTigue, age 48, of Honolulu, [] pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering, as well as committing wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. McTigue pled guilty in federal district court before Senior District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall a day after jury selection for her trial was to have commenced.

    Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that according to information produced in court, McTigue and codefendants Marc Melton and Sakara Blackwell operated a scheme to defraud lending institutions, buyers of real property and title insurance companies through a process of filing fraudulent mortgage release documents with the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances. Once the Bureau of Conveyances accepted and filed the defendants’ fraudulent "satisfaction of mortgage" forms, McTigue, Melton and Blackwell were able to market and sell properties at substantial profit, since the lending institution holding the mortgage was never paid its outstanding debt.

    The scheme resulted in the defrauding of not only mortgage lenders, but also innocent buyers who unwittingly bought properties that appeared to be free and clear but were still subject to the existing mortgages. Documents filed in court allege that the defendants defrauded others of over $3.1 million through the operation of their scheme.