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United States Attorney Southern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
FEBRUARY 18
, 2009 |
CONTACT: U.S. ATTORNEY'S
OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER,
REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
JANICE OH
PUBLIC
INFORMATION OFFICE
(914) 993-1900
(212) 637-2600
JIM MARGOLIN, MONICA
McLEAN
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 384-2720, 2715
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FOUR INDICTED IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME INVOLVING OVER $10 MILLION IN
LOANS
LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and JOSEPH M.
DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the unsealing of charges against
SHARMON HOWELL, a/k/a "Sharmon Wade," DAVID MOORE, JUNE PERSAUD, and OSCAR
ANCRUM, a/k/a "Red," a/k/a "Manny," for their roles in a "sub-prime" mortgage
fraud scheme involving more than two dozen loans which totaled over $10 million.
HOWELL, 35, of Queens, New York, was arrested earlier this morning in Manhattan
and is expected to be presented later today in Manhattan federal court. PERSAUD,
45 of Brooklyn, New York, is expected to surrender to authorities tomorrow.
MOORE, 40, of Brooklyn, New York, and ANCRUM, 54, of New York, New York, remain
at large. According to the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court
earlier today:
From 2006 through 2007,
HOWELL was the leader of a scheme to obtain dozens of home mortgage loans by
fraud. Specifically, the defendants submitted to various banks and lenders
mortgage applications and supporting documentation which contained false and
misleading information. The defendants obtained over $10 million in sub-prime
mortgages for individuals and on terms that the lender would not have approved
had the defendants not submitted the fraudulent documents.
To further the fraud
scheme, the defendants recruited individuals, or "straw buyers," to purchase
properties in and around New York City. The straw buyers were recruited from,
among other places, a halfway house in New York City that served individuals
recently released from prison and a public housing complex in Brooklyn. The
defendants told the straw buyers that, by purchasing the homes, they would be
assisting sellers who were trying to save their homes from foreclosure and/or
that purchasing the homes would be a good investment opportunity. Several of the
straw buyers were also told that they would not have to worry about paying the
mortgage because the defendants would make payments for several months, and
thereafter would repurchase and/or sell the properties from the straw
buyers.
The defendants typically
obtained mortgages on behalf of the straw buyers for amounts greater than the
actual sale price of the homes. To do so, the defendants obtained fraudulent
appraisals for the homes, and misrepresented to the lenders various material
facts about the straw buyers' income, assets, debts, and intent to live in the
properties they were purchasing.
After obtaining these
mortgages, the defendants distributed among themselves the difference or
"spread" between the price of the house and the inflated value of the mortgage.
Thereafter, in some instances, the defendants rented the property out and made
mortgage payments for a time before allowing the mortgage to go into default; in
other instances, the defendants simply failed to make mortgage payments as
promised, resulting in the straw buyers of certain of the properties going into
default on the mortgage. Currently the vast majority of the mortgages obtained
by the defendants are in default and/or foreclosure.
Each defendant is charged
with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. In addition,
HOWELL and MOORE are charged with six counts of bank fraud and two counts of
wire fraud; PERSAUD is charged with two counts of bank fraud and one count of
wire fraud; and ANCRUM is charged with two counts of bank fraud. The conspiracy
charge and the bank fraud charges each carry a maximum potential sentence of
thirty years in prison and a fine of the greater of $1 million, or twice the
gross gain or loss resulting from the crime. Each wire fraud charge carries a
maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and a fine of the greater of
$250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the crime.
The Indictment also seeks
the forfeiture of $10 million from the defendants. The forfeitures represent the
alleged proceeds obtained from the charged offenses.
The case is assigned to
United States District Judge GEORGE B. DANIELS.
Mr. DASSIN praised the
investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States
Attorneys AMANDA KRAMER and MARK LANPHER are in charge of the
prosecution.
The charges and allegations
contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. |
