6 indicted in Arizona foreclosure scam that targeted home owners in financial trouble

Posted on Friday, March 9, 2007 at 12:53PM by Registered CommenterThe Editor - Ian Shuter in Indictments, Loan Officers, Flipping, Arizona | CommentsPost a Comment | PrintPrint
In the following press release from Phoenix, AZ United States Attorney Daniel G. Knauss and HUD Inspector General Kenneth M. Donohue announced that six individuals have been indicted for conspiracy and separate counts of mail and wire fraud violations in connection with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) "Pre-Foreclosure" sale program.

The charged defendants are:
Trudy M. Peters, 43, of Peoria, Az, formerly an Escrow Officer for Ticor Title Agency, Phoenix, Az.
John M. Soto, 35, of Moreno Valley, Ca., formerly a Service Representative for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Larry M. Smith, 28, of Rancho Cucamonga, Ca, formerly a Service Representative, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Maria A. Felix, 47, of Glendale, Az, formerly a Housing Counselor for Acorn Housing, Phoenix.
Tony S. Vasquez, 54, of Tolleson, Az, formerly a Housing Counselor for Chicanos Por La Causa, Phoenix, Az.

Also listed in the indictment as an un-indicted co-conspirator is Edward Carrillo, Jr., currently serving a five year prison sentence arising from a state conviction for Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices. He ran a company called Sahara Investments.
According to the charging documents filed in the District of Arizona, the defendants conspired with Carrillo, doing business as Sahara Investments, Scottsdale, Az, to purchase and sell 65 properties in the Phoenix area using the HUD . Pre-Foreclosure. sale program. The program was designed to reduce foreclosures cost to the government by allowing homeowners to sell their homes for less than what they owed on the mortgage, often referred to as a "short sale." The "Pre-Foreclosure" sale program had strict guidelines among which required that property owners receive homeowner counseling, and that an independent appraisal had to establish the market value of the home.


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Two Plead Guilty In Florida $10 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme - Operation Whose House

Friday, March 16, 2007

Megan McGuire, Miramar, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and/or wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for her involvement in Operation Whose House. On Tuesday, March 13, 2007 Christine A. Brown also pled guilty to one court of aggravated identity theft for her involvement in Operation Whose House.

McGuire and Brown are both scheduled to be sentenced in May, 2007 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At sentencing, McGuire faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment and Brown faces mandatory sentence of two years’ imprisonment. They are the …

Read More...

"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."