Disabled Tenants Who Use Motorized Wheelchairs & Scooters Shake $167K+ Lawsuit Settlement Out Of Virginia Landlord That Allegedly Discriminated Against Them By Requiring They Obtain $100K In Liability Insurance & Pay $1,500 Security Deposit

From the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (Washington, D.C.):

• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced [] an agreement with Roanoke, Virginia-based Retirement Unlimited, Inc. resolving allegations of discrimination against residents with disabilities in two of the company’s rental properties. The settlement requires Retirement Unlimited to pay $167,500 in damages. Read HUD’s agreement with Retirement Unlimited.
  
  The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities. This includes requiring persons with disabilities to pay additional security deposits or to buy liability insurance because they use motorized wheelchairs.
  
  The case came to HUD’s attention when two residents and Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), a non-profit fair housing organization based in Richmond, Virginia, filed complaints alleging that Retirement Unlimited required residents who use motorized wheelchairs or scooters to pay a $1,500 security deposit, acquire a minimum of $100,000 in liability insurance, and sign an agreement stating that approval of the motorized wheelchairs could be withdrawn if payments to maintain the required insurance policies were not made.
  
  After receiving the complaints, HUD conducted an investigation and found that the policies were applied at other properties and to other residents.
  
  ***
  
  Under the terms of the agreement, Retirement Unlimited will pay a total of $107,500 to the complainants and other aggrieved individuals. In addition, Retirement Unlimited will donate $30,000 to HOME to support advocacy for individuals with disabilities, and donate an additional $30,000 to a HUD-approved organization that promotes education and assistance to persons with disabilities in Virginia. Retirement Unlimited will also adopt a revised “Power Mobility Devices Policy” for its six properties in Virginia that prohibits residents who use such devices from being charged extra security deposits or being subjected to other forms of discrimination, and provide training to its employees about the new policy.
  
  Persons who believe they have experienced discrimination may file a complaint by contacting HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed by going to www.hud.gov/fairhousing, or by downloading HUD’s free housing discrimination mobile application, which can be accessed through Apple devices, such as iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, as well as Android devices.

Source: HUD & Virginia Landlord Settle Allegations Of Discrimination Against Tenants With Disablities.

New Santa Monica Ordinance Now Prohibits "Source Of Income" Housing Discrimination; Joins Over Three Dozen States, Local Municipalities In Outlawing Practice That Frequently Targets Voucher-Holding Tenants Receiving Section 8 Rent Subsidies

In Santa Monica, California, the Santa Monica Daily Press reports:

• No more “No Section 8” on rental listings in Santa Monica. Council quickly and unanimously approved an ordinance that prohibits housing discrimination based on a tenant’s source of income, including Section 8 vouchers.
  
  ***
  
  Neither federal nor California law prohibits discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders, Denise McGranahan, senior attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, told council.
  
  This is because a court determined that Section 8 vouchers are not a source of income under California law.
  
  Twelve states, nine counties and 18 cities have outlawed discrimination against Section 8 tenants.(1)
  
  “Section 8 is one of the key ways housing is provided to low income tenants living on fixed incomes,” McGranahan said. “Without Section 8, these tenants might otherwise live on the streets, in shelters, or double up with relatives.”
  
  The program, which is used by 2 million people, is plagued by discrimination, McGranahan told council. Discrimination, she said, is worst in wealthier neighborhoods like Santa Monica.
  
  “We see the refusal to accept Section 8 as a form of tenant harassment,” she said. “Private landlords often refuse to accept Section 8, even from their existing rent control tenants even though they could get more rent from section 8 than under rent control. They say no, assuming that long-term rent control tenants will vacate rather than lose their vouchers allowing owners to increase the rent to market.”
  
  The ordinance would not require landlords to lower their rents to accommodate those who have Section 8 vouchers.
  
  “Housing choices are limited due to two factors: Discrimination and the fact that vouchers do not allow tenants to pay market rent,” McGranahan said. “If the city obtains increased payment standards, this proposed law would help more people. Voucher holders who are not at the top of the city’s affordable housing wait list, lose their vouchers if they cannot locate affordable housing within 90 days. Many are forced to port to other cities, which is detrimental to the city’s Section 8 program.”
  
  This type of discrimination, she said, furthers the segregation of neighborhood.
  
  “Studies suggest that landlords discriminate against Section 8 voucher holders as a pretext for discriminating against minorities, disabled, and families with children,” McGranahan said. “These populations are over represented in the Section 8 program, including in Santa Monica, as compared to the general population.”
  
  Those who violate the ordinance could be forced to pay between $1,000 and $10,000.

For the story, see Landlord discrimination against Section 8 vouchers outlawed.

------------------------

(1) Among the cities which have adopted similar ordinances is the City of Austin, Texas, which shortly after such adoption, was belted with a lawsuit by a local landlord trade group. See Austin sued over ordinance that aims to stop housing discrimination:

• The Austin Apartment Association announced [...] it filed a lawsuit against the City of Austin after council members unanimously approved an ordinance that would stop landowners from discriminating against potential renters with housing vouchers.
  
  “It’s not that we have anything against the voucher or the person that’s the recipient of the voucher, it’s the program itself,” said Robbie Robinson, president of the Austin Apartment Association (AAA). “It’s this big book of regulations and rules that we would have to agree to and contract with the government.”
  
  The group said it is upset that a once-voluntary federal program is now being forced on them. Robinson said landowners don’t want to be pushed into a partnership with the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its Section 8 programing. It means more rules, regulations, inspections, maintenance, reporting and other compliance regulations which create a burden for landowners, she added.

No Immunity From Deed Scams North Of The Border; One Title Underwriter Estimates Title Hijacking Damages Range From $400 Million To $1.5 Billion Annually

On Katepwa Lake, Saskatchewan, Yahoo Canada Finance reports:

• Fred Weekley knew something was amiss when he received a fax from a title transfer firm wanting a land description of his home on Katepwa Lake, Sask., about 100 kilometres east of Regina. The mayor of the district of Katepwa Beach called the Vancouver-based company and was told the house had been sold and the title was about to be transferred to its new owner. The catch? He’d never put his home on the market.
  
  He was about to be duped. Weekley was just lucky he caught it in time before the transfer went through. “You can very easily be in real trouble,” says Weekley, a former senior financial planner. “You don’t even know what’s happened until the truck pulls up with the new owner’s stuff. It can be really, really disastrous.
  
  “To me it appeared to be a ‘big city’ problem, particularly where there are hot real estate markets,” he adds. “Now I know that the title fraud can happen anywhere and to anyone.”
  
  An all-too common scam
  
  Title fraud is becoming increasingly common. According to title-insurance company FCT (First Canadian Title), estimates of damages in Canada range from $400 million to $1.5 billion every year. In 2013 alone, the firm declined to insure a mortgage twice a week on average based on the suspicion of fraud; the average mortgage was $360,000.(1)
  
  Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal have higher rates of fraud, according to FCT’s Retire Your Home website. Targets are typically seniors who have paid off their homes.
  
  ***
  How does it happen?
  
  Title fraud can happen in one of two ways, according to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. With identity theft, fraudsters can use stolen or fake identification or documents to pretend to be a homeowner and obtain one or more mortgages on the property, then walk away with the cash.
  
  Fraudsters can also register forged documents to discharge any existing mortgages then transfer the property to themselves and register a new mortgage against the property’s clear title, pocketing the proceeds.

For more, see Title fraud: Stealing your home from underneath you.

-----------------------------

(1) According to their website, First Canadian Title offers a title insurance policy that, unlike traditional insurance products, also insures against things affecting one's title that may happen after a home purchase (e.g. title fraud), in addition to what title insurance normally covers - title defects that have already occurred in the past, prior to a home purchase.

Four Years After Sentencing, Dozens Of Victims Still Trying To Unravel Mess Created, Left Behind By Deed Thief Who Used Forged Documents To Steal 152 Dallas-Area Land Titles Worth $4M+; Scammer Currently Doing 20 Years In Slammer

In Dallas, Texas, FOX-TV reports:

• It’s a scary reality for anyone who owns property — thieves are figuring out how to steal land without the owners knowing it. “It would make you mad if somebody takes something from you,” said fraud victim, Margaret Jennings.
  
  Jennings says she still doesn’t understand how she lost her family’s land to a con artist. “I just don’t understand how he could go around town and get the deeds,” Jennings said.
  
  She is talking about Norris Fisher. Postal inspectors say he stole properties by using phony documents, forged deeds and contracts with fake notary signatures.
  
  “He would file deed after deed on the property using fraudulent notary stamps that he had made up. He would then often take out the mineral rights and separate that from the actual property. In many cases, those properties would be sold to different people even though he never even owned them,” U.S. Postal Inspector Amanda McMurrey explained.
  
  Fisher filed 475 documents on 152 properties worth almost $4 million and $185,000 in mineral royalties — royalties collected if the land is mined and produces something of value.
  
  Most of the lots were small and vacant, which is why he was able to continue this scam for so long.
  
  Dozens of victims like Jennings are still trying to unravel the paper trail Fisher left behind. “I need a lawyer and I’m not able to get a lawyer. So, I went to the legal aide,” Jennings explained. She says the process to get her land back has turned into a long and expensive nightmare.
  
  “Some of these land transfers have not been cleared up yet,” McMurrey said.
  
  If you are a land owner, be on the lookout for any signs that someone might have stolen your property. “Make sure that you watch out for that tax appraisal notice. There is nothing more certain than death and taxes. And, if most of these victims had been aware that they had not received that tax notice, they probably would have found that the property had changed owners much faster,” McMurrey revealed.
  
  “It still stays with me. It never leaves me… I’m still hurt over it,” Jennings said.
  
  Fisher is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence and was ordered to pay more than $4.6 million dollars in restitution to his victims.

Source: “I’m still so hurt over it:” Woman loses family land in property scam.

77-Year Old Stepmom Accused Of Covering Up Sale Of 12-Room, $17.5M Big Apple Pad In Attempt To Dodge Having To Split Profit With Step-Daughter; Senior Agreed To Cough Up 50% Of Sale Profit To Settle Earlier Suit Saying She Tricked Hubby Into Signing Away Control Of Apartment To Her

In New York City, the New York Post reports:

• Actor John Leguizamo’s mother-in-law is covering up the sale of her $17.5 million pad on the Upper West Side to keep her stepdaughter from a cut of the profits, a court filing claims.
  
  Rona Maurer — whose daughter, Justine, is married to Leguizamo — is allegedly violating a stipulation agreement by refusing to notify stepdaughter Lisa Bishop that she is in contract with a buyer for her 12-room apartment in the luxury San Remo building.
  
  In a Manhattan Surrogate’s Court filing, Bishop’s lawyer claims he became aware of the pending sale only when a pal told him.
  
  Maurer, 77, is allegedly keeping mum on the sale so she doesn’t have to give Bishop 50 percent of the net profits, as called for by a 2013 stipulation agreement.
  
  That agreement marked the end of an eight-year lawsuit that began when Maurer’s husband sued her, claiming she tricked him into signing papers handing over control of the apartment.
  
  Both Bishop ’s and Maurer ’s lawyers declined to comment on the petition..

Source: John Leguizamo’s mother-in-law covering up $17M high-rise sale: suit.

Federal Jury Convicts Three For Roles In Cold Calling/Boiler Room Racket Peddling Bogus Loan Modification Programs Falsely Represented As Being Sponsored By U.S. Gov't; Trio Joins Eight Other Confederates Who Earlier Copped Guilty Pleas In Awaiting Sentencing In Swindle That Clipped 4,000+ Struggling Homeowners Nationwide Out Of $7M+

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Los Angeles, California):

• A federal jury [] convicted three defendants who worked at a Rancho Cucamonga business that offered bogus loan modification programs to thousands of financially distressed homeowners who lost more than $7 million when they paid for services, including loan modifications, that were never provided.
  
  The three Southland residents found guilty [] of federal fraud charges were associated with a telemarketing operation known under a series of names – including 21st Century Legal Services, Inc. – that bilked more than 4,000 homeowners across the nation, many of whom lost their homes to foreclosure.
  
  The defendants found guilty today are:
  
  Christopher Paul George, 45, Rancho Cucamonga, a co-owner of 21th Century, [...]; Crystal Taiwana Buck, 40, of Long Beach, a sales “closer,” [...]; and Albert DiRoberto, 62, of Fullerton, who handled both sales and marketing – which included making a commercial for 21th Century and preparing talking points to respond to negative publicity [...].
  
  
  ***
  
  With [these] guilty verdicts, a total of 11 defendants linked to 21st Century have been convicted of federal fraud charges [...]
  
  During an 18-month period that began in the middle of 2008, a Rancho Cucamonga woman – Andrea Ramirez, 47, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud – operated 21st Century, which defrauded financially distressed homeowners by making false promises and guarantees regarding 21st Century’s ability to negotiate loan modifications for homeowners. Employees of 21st Century made numerous misrepresentations to victims during the course of the scheme, including falsely telling victims that 21st Century was operating a loan modification program sponsored by the United States government. Victims were generally instructed to stop communicating with their mortgage lenders and to cease making their mortgage payments.
  
  George was a co-owner of 21st Century who acted as a sales manager for the company, and ran his own sales office there for several months. George instructed 21st Century employees to make misrepresentations to distressed homeowners, including guaranteeing that 21st Century would obtain loan modifications and telling homeowners that payments made to 21st Century would go towards homeowners’ mortgages.
  
  
  ***
  
  Ramirez, 21st Century co-owner George and the other 21st Century employees contacted distressed homeowners through cold calls, newspaper ads and mailings, and the company controlled websites that advertised loan modification services. Once they contacted the distressed homeowners, according to the evidence presented at trial, Ramirez and other 21st Century employees often falsely told clients that the company was operating through a federal government program, that they would be able to obtain new mortgages with specific interest rates and reduced payments, and that attorneys would negotiate loan modifications with their lenders. Ramirez and other 21st Century employees regularly instructed financially distressed homeowners to cease making mortgage payments to their lenders and to cut off all contact with their lenders because they were being represented by 21st Century. On some occasions, Ramirez and other 21st Century employees would tell homeowners that 21st Century was using the fees paid by the homeowner to make mortgage payments, when in fact Ramirez, George and their co-defendants simply were pocketing the homeowners’ money.
  
  
  ***

  
  In addition to Ramirez and the three found guilty today, seven other defendants previously pleaded guilty. They are: Michael Bruce Bates, 64, of Moreno Valley; Michael Lewis Parker, 37, of Pomona; Catalina Deleon, 38, of Glendora; Hamid Reza Shalviri, 53, of Montebello; Yadira Garcia Padilla, 38, of Rancho Cucamonga; Mindy Sue Holt, 55, of San Bernardino; and Iris Melissa Pelayo, 45, of Upland.
  
  Ramirez and the other defendants who previously pleaded guilty are scheduled to be sentenced [...] over the coming months.

For the entire news release, see 3 Involved In Inland Empire Loan Modification Scam That Targeted Financially Distressed Homeowners Guilty Of Federal Fraud Charges.

Pair Pinched For Allegedly Using Forged Docs To Run Home Title Hijacking Racket; Suspects Lifted Nine Homes Worth Million$ In Brooklyn/Queens, Renting Some, Flipping Others For Pocket Cash: DA

In Brooklyn, New York, the New York Post reports:

• A pair of con men forged documents to illegally take ownership of nine homes in Brooklyn and Queens, renting some out, selling others and pocketing the cash, prosecutors said [].
  
  Accused ringleader Danny Noble, 45, of Baldwin, Long Island, and Roderick Grey, 37, of Freeport, were tripped up when the legitimate owner of one of the homes learned of the scam and called the cops, Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson said.(1)
  
  “The houses targeted in this fraud are worth millions of dollars. It is shocking that [Noble] was allegedly able to carry out such a brazen scheme,” he said.
  
  Court documents said the duo falsely transferred titles to single- and multi-family homes in Fort Greene, Bushwick and East New York, in Brooklyn, and Jamaica and Hollis, Queens, in the scam, which ran from June 2010 to March 2015.
  
  The defendants targeted the properties because the owners did not live there and rarely visited, prosecutors said.
  
  In one example, Noble took control of 45 North Oxford St., a renovated Fort Greene brownstone whose owner lived abroad, and rented out apartments for $1,500 a month each.
  
  Will Cropper, 46, a tenant at the three-family home, said Noble seemed legit until he suddenly vanished last January. “I’m glad he got arrested. He’s getting what he deserves. He’s a crook, plain and simple,” Cropper told The Post.
  
  Prosecutors said the scam fell apart after Grey and Noble transferred the title to a house at 1391 East 95th St. in Canarsie to a third party and told a tenant he had to move out.
  
  When the new “owner” started renovations, the actual owner learned of the work from an employee of a business across the street, and notified the police.
  
  The pair were arraigned [] before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on charges including criminal possession of stolen property, grand larceny and falsifying business records.
  
  Noble was held on $250,000 bail and faces up to 25 years behind bars. Grey was held on $10,000 cash bail and faces up to four years in prison.

Source: Con men rented out homes they didn’t own.

--------------------------

(1) Noble is already facing charges for running a similar racket in Nassau County. See Cops: Baldwin Man Charged with Forgery; Filed Forged Deeds to Transfer Ownership of Property.

NYC Rental Building Condo Converter To Cough Up $1.2M, Give Eleven Remaining Residents Free Rent For Two Years To Settle NY AG Charges That It Illegally Duped A Dozen Tenants To Vacate Building Through Illegal Buyout Agreements

In New York City, The Real Deal (NYC) reports:

• The New York State Attorney General’s Office reached a settlement Monday with Margaret Streicker Porres’ Newcastle Realty Services, which made prohibited buyout agreements with tenants at an Upper West Side rental building. The settlement paves the way for Newcastle to resume conversion and condo sales at the property.
  
  In January, a New York State Supreme Court judge suspended construction of a 24-unit condo conversion at 101 West 78th Street as part of AG Eric Schneiderman’s investigation. Newcastle has owned the 44-unit landmarked building since 2012, records show.
  
  The AG’s office found that Newcastle induced a dozen tenants to vacate the building before receiving approval for the June 2013 offering plan, which is illegal. Five of the apartments were prematurely taken out of rent stabilization, according to the settlement.
  
  As a result, Newcastle must pay $1.2 million in restitution to the city’s Affordable Housing – AG Settlement Fund. The firm must also [allow] tenants of the 11 occupied apartments to live rent-free for two years while the building undergoes a renovation. Newcastle must also reimburse some tenants for legal fees incurred when the developer challenged their rent-stabilized status.
  
  “This settlement puts condominium developers on notice that the rights of tenants will – and must – be protected,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “As housing prices rise across New York, more and more properties are being converted from modest residential rentals to luxury condominiums. My office will continue to hold real estate developers accountable if they disregard the law in search of profits.”
  
  A representative for the developer said about the settlement: “We are pleased to have resolved these issues in cooperation with the Attorney General’s Office and will now proceed with the completion of this development as planned.”
  

Source: Newcastle’s settlement with AG allows UWS condo conversion to proceed.

KC Man Pinched For Allegedly Forging, Flipping 'Dirty Deeds' On Homes Belonging To Both Living & Dead Victims; Previous Felony Convictions Leave Suspect Facing 30 Years In Slammer

In Kansas City, Missouri, KSHB-TV Channel 41 reports:

• Jackson County prosecutors have charged a man in connection with a web of forged housing deeds.
  
  The developments come two years after a 41 Action News investigation uncovered the real estate fraud scheme, which included forged signatures of both the living and the dead.
  
  Prosecutors have now charged Willis L. Watson, 35, with nine different counts of felony forgery and theft. 41 Action News first confronted Watson about the forged deeds in February 2013. Surveillance video at the Jackson County Courthouse later appeared to show Watson moments before the fraudulent deeds were recorded.
  
  Even after the original investigation, a follow-up report revealed Watson had continued shifting the properties. Court documents allege Watson sold a Raytown home in the summer of 2013 for $11,000 after forging the names of the previous owners.
  
  As part of the criminal investigation, detectives tracked down many of the victims interviewed by 41 Action News, along with several notaries whose supposed stamps and signatures also appeared on the fraudulent documents .
  
  With assistance from the Secret Service, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation. In a statement, department spokeswoman Sgt. Ronda Montgomery credited the 41 Action News stories.
  
  “This case has been complex with suspects and crimes that are time-consuming to investigate, involving multiple agencies,” Montgomery wrote. “41 Action News has been instrumental in this investigation and has uncovered additional evidence to our case.”
  
  In early February, Watson sent a letter to investigative reporter Ryan Kath, saying he had been mistakenly connected to the fraud scheme. “I hereby request that you print an immediate retraction and apology. I expect the retraction to receive the same prominence as the original article did,” the letter read.
  
  Two weeks later, prosecutors filed the extensive charges.
  
  Because he has previous felony convictions, prosecutors say the series of charges could bring up to 30 years in prison.
  
  Bobby Broils expressed relief that someone was being held accountable for forging his mother’s name on a housing deed four years after she died. “He needs to go to jail. That just isn’t right,” Broils told 41 Action News.
  
  The ongoing series of reports later highlighted how shockingly easy it is to steal a property. Missouri lawmakers have proposed legislation that is supposed to help prevent forged deeds and also make it easier for victims to correct the legal headache.

Source: After 41 Action News investigation, prosecutors charge man in connection with web of forged deeds.

See also, Trail of 'dirty deeds' grows: Forged documents surprise homeowners, cost thousands of dollars to fix.

Closing Attorney Gets 12 Months For Role In Illegal Short Sale/Flipping Racket; Used Two Sets Of False, Misleading Paperwork, Double HUD-1s To Dupe Banksters Into Taking Less Than Entire Debt Balance In Full Satisfaction Of Their Delinquent Mortgages

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Newark, New Jersey):

• A Westfield, New Jersey, man was sentenced [] to 12 months in prison for his role in a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme in which he obtained more than $1 million in illegitimate proceeds, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
  
  Amedeo Gaglioti, 60, previously pleaded guilty [...] to an information charging him with wire fraud affecting a financial institution and money laundering. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence [] in Newark federal court.
  
  According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
  
  From December 2007 through August 2010, Gaglioti engaged in a scheme to swindle mortgage lenders by causing fake “short sale” transactions and fraudulently obtaining mortgage loans relating to properties primarily located in northern New Jersey.
  
  Gaglioti was the closing attorney for these transactions. As part of the scheme, Gaglioti would prepare two sets of false and misleading closing documents, including HUD-1s,  for short sale flip transactions. Through the preparation of these documents, as well as other acts, lenders accepted proceeds of purported short sales in full satisfaction of an existing mortgage. Gaglioti also caused lenders to fund mortgages based upon false and misleading information and documentation. Gaglioti obtained more than $1 million in illegitimate proceeds as a result of the scheme.
  
  In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Gaglioti to serve three years of supervised release, ordered him to pay restitution of $2,001,245.89 and entered a forfeiture judgment of $1 million.

Source: New Jersey Attorney Sentenced To One Year In Prison For His Role In Large Scale Mortgage Fraud Scheme.

NY AG: Long Island Man Pinched For Using False, Forged Docs In Failed Attempt To Dupe Bankster Into Approving Short Sale, Scamming Thousand$ From Prospective Brooklyn Homebuying Couple By Refusing To Refund Their Downpayment Cash After Anticipated Flip Flew South

From the Office of the New York Attorney General:

• Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman [] announced the arrest of Fedlaire Aristide, 47, of Freeport, N.Y., for allegedly attempting to defraud Wells Fargo in a short sale scam that would have cost the bank hundreds of thousands of dollars. Aristide, who is not a licensed real estate broker or agent, is also charged with stealing thousands of dollars from a Brooklyn couple who he conned into giving him money towards the purchase of the same home, located in Brooklyn, which Aristide did not own and never acquired. If convicted, the defendant faces up to seven years in prison.
  
  
  ***
  
  According to the Attorney General’s indictment and statements made by prosecutors at arraignment, Aristide allegedly submitted, or aided in the submission, of false and forged documents to Wells Fargo in an effort to defraud the bank into approving a short sale – a process in which a bank agrees to modify and reduce an existing residential mortgage loan – of a Brooklyn home. The submitted documents contained contracts of sale and other supporting documents normally relied upon to show a legitimate offer and sale of property. Aristide used these documents to mislead the bank and attempted to steal money. A short sale would have allowed Aristide to purchase the home at a price far below what was owed, giving Aristide a windfall profit. In essence, if the short sale were approved, the bank would have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on the property and Aristide would have made tens of thousands of dollars by using or accessing the equity in the home.
  
  Additionally, the indictment alleges that Aristide also conned a Brooklyn couple into giving him thousands of dollars towards the purchase of the same Brooklyn home. Aristide falsely represented that, after he acquired the home at a short sale, he would sell them the home. When the bank rejected Aristide’s short sale offers, Aristide kept the money and refused to return it.
  
  The defendant is charged with Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a Class D felony), Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class D felony), Forgery in the Second (a class D felony), Attempted Residential Mortgage Fraud in the Second Degree (a class D felony), Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (a class E felony) and a violation of Real Property Law section 442-e (a misdemeanor).

For the press release, see A.G. Schneiderman Announces Arrest Of Long Island Man For Attempted Residential Mortgage Fraud In Brooklyn (Fedlaire Aristide Allegedly Tried to Steal Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars From Wells Fargo By Submitting False Documents For Short Sale; Aristide Also Charged With Stealing Thousands From Brooklyn Couple Who Gave Him A Down Payment For A Home He Did Not Own).