May 2, 2012
Realtor convicted in massive mortgage fraud scheme
A Virginia real estate agent has been convicted for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that involved at least 25 homes and ripped off lenders for more than $7 million.
Nadin Samnang was convicted late last month by a federal jury on nine counts of wire fraud, and two counts of mail fraud, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years on each count, and will be sentenced on July 20.
Under the scheme, Samnang and his co-conspirators sought unqualified home buyers - typically borrowers with strong credit but not enough for a down payment or to cover their monthly mortgage bills - to be nominal purchasers in residential transactions, the report said. Samnang and the others would then falsify those consumers' loan applications and create bogus evidence of the phony claims. They also added unqualified buyers as co-holders on their own bank accounts to make them appear to have more money than they did.
Mortgage fraud schemes have been in the news lately because of the large amount of damage they can do for consumers and banks alike, and the hefty jail terms this type of crime typically carries often isn't a deterrent.
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