Another Ringleader Who Headed Loan Modification Racket Gets Shipped Off To Federal Prison, Getting 9+ Years In Slammer For Screwing Over 1,000 Financially Strapped Homeowners Out Of Upfront Fees Totaling $3+ Million

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Bridgeport, Connecticut):

• ARIA MALEKI, 33, of Santa Ana, Calif., was sentenced [...] in Bridgeport to 112 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for heading a mortgage loan modification scheme that defrauded more than 1,000 struggling homeowners across the United States.
  
  “This defendant presided over a scheme that preyed on struggling homeowners in Connecticut and across the United States, falsely offering mortgage relief in exchange for thousands of dollars that the victims clearly could not afford to spend,” said Deirdre M. Daly, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. “The investigation revealed that the participants in this scheme specifically targeted homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments, whose homes were ‘under water,’ or who had recently experienced a financial hardship, such as a lost job. This is an appropriate sentence for a defendant who profited handsomely from such heartless, criminal conduct. I thank our federal and state law enforcement partners in New England, New Jersey, California and Oklahoma for investigating this matter, shutting down this scam and bringing those responsible to justice.”
  
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  MALEKI and his co-conspirators cold-called homeowners and offered to provide mortgage loan modification services to those who were having difficulty repaying their home mortgage loans. The defendants charged homeowners fees that typically ranged from approximately $2,500 to $4,300 for their services. [...] As a result, more than 1,000 homeowners suffered losses totaling more than $3 million.

For more, see Ringleader of Mortgage Loan Modification Scheme Sentenced to More Than 9 Years in Federal Prison.