Hawaii Feds Bust Four Foreclosure Rescue Operators In Alleged Equity Stripping, Sale-Leaseback Scam Targeting Financially Strapped Homeowners

In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Advertiser reports:

• The two top executives of a Honolulu mortgage company were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly coordinating a scheme that bilked banks and troubled homeowners out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, court documents show.(1)

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• They are accused of targeting homeowners on the brink of foreclosure — including some who were members of Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor — and offering relief if the homeowners agreed to a temporary sale of the house to a third party "investor" who worked for John Dimitrion, according to court documents.

• The four allegedly told the homeowners they could remain in their homes and their title would be returned to them after a set period of time. Homeowners paid John Dimitrion $20,000 for the service, thinking their mortgage payments would be handled by Dimitrion's company, court documents said.

• John Dimitrion and his associates applied for larger loans than what the homeowners owed and allegedly stole the proceeds by funneling the money into fake escrow accounts created by Julie Dimitrion, the documents said. In each case the homeowner was unable to make the payments on the larger loan, the documents show.

For more, see Honolulu mortgage company executives indicted in scam (Company's founder, wife, 2 others accused in home loan scheme).

(1) According to the story, John M. Dimitrion, founder and chief executive of Mortgage Alliance LLC and his wife, Julie A.B. Dimitrion, the firm's chief financial officer, were indicted with Rick Kealoha Pa Jr. and Benjamin Yoshito Thompson after they allegedly defrauded homeowners and lending institutions by promising to stave off foreclosure.

Federal Judge Issues Arrest Warrants For Foreclosure Rescue Scammers For Failing To Appear At Sentencing In Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff

In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports:

• A U.S. district judge issued two arrest warrants yesterday for an Oahu couple convicted of mortgage fraud after they did not show up for their sentencing. The couple—John Dimitrion and Julie Anne Baldueza Dimitrion—were scheduled to be sentenced on charges that they ran a fraudulent mortgage scheme that almost left three Oahu families homeless.

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• Under a plea agreement struck in April 2009, John Dimitrion pleaded guilty to one charge each of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements on loan applications. He faced a maximum of 45 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. Julie Anne Dimitrion entered into a similar deal, pleading guilty to everything her husband did, except wire fraud. She faced a maximum of 30 years behind bars and $1.25 million in fines.

• The Dimitrions admitted to offering to help homeowners facing foreclosure by arranging fraudulent loans for straw buyers for the homes. The couple—owners of Mortgage Alliance LLC and Global Financial Holdings LLC—then drained equity from the properties and tried to evict the homeowners. The Dimitrions also skimmed off thousands of dollars in processing fees from the loans.

For the story, see Mortgage fraud couple wanted by law (Warrants are issued for John and Julie Anne Dimitrion, who failed to show for sentencing).

See also, KITV-TV: FBI Hunt For Fugitive Married Couple ($1,000 Reward Offered For Capture).

For an earlier post on this story, see Hawaii Feds Ring Up 2 More Guilty Pleas In Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Civil Case Continues As One Victim Seeks To Recover Property Title.

Loan Officer Wins Race To Prosecutor's Office In Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Case; Cuts Deal w/ Feds, Will Sing Against Now-Former Associates

In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Star Bulletin reports:

• A former loan officer with a local mortgage brokerage company is cooperating with the government in its prosecution of his former boss. Vance Yukio Inouye, 31, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to one count each of wire fraud and conspiring to make false statements on loan applications and commit wire and mail fraud.

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• Inouye pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal with the government. The agreement requires him to pay restitution and testify for the prosecution against other defendants. In exchange, the government promises not to prosecute him for various other crimes and to recommend a sentence lighter than what he would qualify for. In U.S. District Court, in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren, Inouye said, "John Dimitrion approached me with a foreclosure bailout deal I thought was legitimate."

• Dimitrion is the owner and principal broker of Mortgage Alliance. A federal grand jury returned an indictment last month charging him, his wife, Julie Ann Baldueza Dimitrion, and employees Rick Kealoha Pa Jr. and Benjamin Yoshito Thompson with mortgage fraud crimes involving three homes. Their trial is scheduled for next month.

For more, see Former mortgage officer pleads guilty, makes deal.

To view the indictment, see U.S. v. Dimitrion, et al.

Go here for other posts on this case.

Hawaii Feds Pick Up Guilty Pleas In Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scam

In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Hawaiian Advertiser reports:

• [Rick Kealoha Pa Jr.] faces five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and payment of restitution to an evicted homeowner after pleading guilty yesterday to aiding a Honolulu mortgage company accused of orchestrating a foreclosure bailout scheme and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks and distressed homeowners.

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• Pa was paid $10,000 to submit falsified mortgage loan applications, according to court documents. When the scam fell apart, a Makakilo family was evicted from their home.
  Pa was one of several loan officers employed by John M. Dimitrion,(1) founder and chief executive of Mortgage Alliance LLC, and his wife, Julie A.B. Dimitrion, the firm's chief financial officer.(2)

For more, see Man pleads guilty to fraud (Loan officer helped firm in mortgage scam that led to family's eviction).

For the indictment, see U.S. v. Dimitrion.

(1) Dimitrion and his associates are accused of finding homeowners on the cusp of foreclosure and offering help if the homeowners agreed to a temporary sale of the house to a third-party "investor," according to court documents. They allegedly told the homeowners they could remain in their homes and that their title would be returned to them after a set period of time. But Mortgage Alliance allegedly stole the proceeds by funneling the money into fake escrow accounts, and the new loan would go into default, according to court documents.

(2) Reportedly, one of Dimitrion's former employees, Vance Yukio Inouye, 31, has already pleaded guilty and has promised to cooperate with the government; Dimitrion and his wife, Julie Ann Baldueza Dimitrion, are scheduled to plead guilty later this month; and the final defendant, Benjamin Yoshito Thompson, is scheduled to stand trial in September. See Star-Bulletin: Mortgage fraud case draws new guilty plea.

Equity Stripping Victim To Stay In Home Pending Outcome Of Civil Case Alleging Fraud Against Recently-Indicted Foreclosure Rescue Operator

In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Star Bulletin reports:

• Whatever happened to Debbie Aurelio and her family, who lost title to their Ewa Beach home and faced eviction after allegedly being swindled by mortgage scammers?

• Aurelio and her family have been able to stay in their home, after the Legal Aid Society [of Hawaii] staved off eviction proceedings. Her civil case alleging fraud and deception by the mortgage broker and others is still pending in Circuit Court. The defendants in the case have been filing cross claims against each other, and no trial date has been set.

• But on Feb. 11, one defendant, John Dimitrion, was indicted in U.S. District Court on criminal charges involving mortgage loan transactions on the Aurelio home and two other houses, one in Ewa Beach and one in Kapolei.(1)

For more, see Family allowed to remain in home as mortgage fraud case proceeds.

(1) According to the story, Dimitrion and others are accused of a criminal scheme in which they solicited homeowners facing foreclosure and offered to help them. Instead they allegedly arranged fraudulent loans for straw buyers for the homes and drained equity from the properties, then tried to evict the homeowners.

Hawaii Feds Ring Up 2 More Guilty Pleas In Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Civil Case Continues As One Victim Seeks To Recover Property Title

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reports:

• The owners of a Honolulu mortgage brokerage firm pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering yesterday in a scheme that used phony buyers to obtain loans to buy homes that were in foreclosure proceedings. Federal Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren set a Sept. 17 sentencing date for John Michael Dimitrion, 33, who pleaded guilty to three felony counts, and a Sept. 24 court appearance for his wife, Julie Ann Baldueza Dimitrion, 37, who pleaded guilty to two counts. Two employees of their company, Mortgage Alliance LLD, pleaded guilty previously. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Connors told Kurren that the fraud involving three homes occurred in July 2005. The defendants arranged for "straw buyers" who lied on applications that they intended to live in the houses.

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• Debbie Aurelio and her family, who signed over title of their home thinking they were refinancing, were in the courtroom to watch the Dimitrions plead guilty. "I feel better now that it came to a point where they know they cheated us," said Aurelio. "We want our house back." The family of seven continues to live in their Ewa Beach home of 10 years.

• The Aurelios filed a lawsuit against the Dimitrions, and "their suit thwarted their eviction," said Legal Aid Society [of Hawaii] attorney Russ Awakuni. "This family was smart enough to seek legal help," but the other two families had to leave their homes.

• But the title to the Aurelio home is still held by the straw buyer, and "there's not much the federal government can do about that. They will continue with the civil case because the title needs to be restored," Awakuni said.

For the story, see Husband and wife plead guilty to mortgage fraud.

For the indictment in this case, see U.S. v. Dimitrion.

See also: Beware Local Mortgage, Foreclosure Scams (Family Faced Eviction After Company Took Ownership Of Home).

Loan Officer Gets Five Months In Sale Leaseback, Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Equity Stripping Victim Hopes To Recover Title To Home

In Honolulu, Hawaii, KITV-TV Channel 4 reports:

• It’s been nearly five years since the Fagaragan family of Ewa Beach realized that the people who promised to save their home from foreclosure had actually stolen it. Thursday, one of the people involved in that mortgage fraud case was sentenced to prison while the Fagaragans still hope to regain full ownership.

• The family was nearly evicted by the mortgage con, and has been living in limbo ever since. Theirs was one of the first homes stolen in what became a common scheme. Mortgage companies promising to save a family from foreclosure actually fooled them into signing title over to a straw buyer and then sucked out the equity with more loans against the property.

• Debbie Aurelio Fagaragan was in court Thursday as one of the thieves, 31-year-old Vance Yukio Inouye, was sentenced to five months in prison with four months of the time to be served on weekends.(1)

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• Debbie Aurelio didn't comment to reporters Thursday. Her Legal Aid attorney hopes the defendants will pay enough restitution to satisfy the banks. The judge Thursday ordered Inouye to pay $274,000. Of that, $200,000 will go to GMAC to pay off a loan the Inouyes took out on the house, the other $74,000 for the Fagaragan family. “They want their home back is what they really care about,” said Legal Aid attorney Russ Awakuni.(2)

For the story, see Mortgage Fraud Defendant Gets 5-Month Sentence (Vance Inouye Brokered Mortgage And Put Wife On Title).

(1) According to the story, Inouye’s wife, Patricia Inouye, who is still the official title holder of the Fagaragan home, has never been charged. Still be to be sentenced are Inouye's bosses, John and Julie Dimitrion, owners of "Mortgage Alliance." They pleaded guilty to the Fagaragan fraud and two other similar straw buyer schemes.

(2) Awakuni said the family still must negotiate with the Inouyes' attorneys to get Patricia Inouye to sign the home's title back to the Fagaragans and negotiate with banks to arrange affordable loans, the story states.

FBI Manhunt For Hawaiian Sale Leaseback Peddlers Continues; Couple Who Copped Pleas To Ripping Off Homeowners Failed To Show Up For Sentencing

In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports:

• What ever happened to the FBI manhunt for an Oahu couple who never showed up for sentencing in a mortgage fraud scam?

• FBI agents continue chasing leads and have expanded the search for John and Julieanne Dimitrion to the mainland. "Our fugitive investigation has indicated that they have some personal contacts in the Washington, D.C., area and the West Coast of the U.S. mainland," said FBI Special Agent Tom Simon in Honolulu.

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• The FBI launched the manhunt after the couple failed to show up for sentencing at U.S. District Court on July 6. The Dimitrions pleaded guilty in April to operating a fraud scheme that led to several families losing their homes, the FBI said.

• The couple persuaded distressed homeowners to sign over their properties, promising to invest the proceeds of the home sales. Instead, they spent the money on themselves. Losses to their victims exceeded $1 million.

For the story, see FBI continues search for couple behind mortgage scam.

For an earlier post on this story, see Federal Judge Issues Arrest Warrants For Foreclosure Rescue Scammers For Failing To Appear At Sentencing In Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff.