The scheme involved ‘flips’ to inflate the value of the properties
A New York man involved in a scheme that defrauded mortgage lending institutions out of millions of dollars has been sentenced to prison.
US District Judge Eric Vitaliano sentenced Dirk Hall to 41 months’ imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme that involved flips to inflate property values.
Between September 2008 and May 2011, Hall and his co-conspirators caused the submission of mortgage loan applications with false information to lending institutions in connection with the purchase of residential properties located within the Eastern District of New York.
Court filings and facts presented at hearing showed that the co-conspirators carried out “flips” by conducting simultaneous purchases and sales of properties in an effort to inflate their values.
In addition to inflated purchase prices, the applications contained false information about the assets and income of the purchasers, many of whom were paid by the co-conspirators to act as straw purchasers. The co-conspirators also submitted false down-payment checks to make it appear as if the purchasers had made down payments in connection with the sale of the properties.
As a result of the scheme, lenders were induced to issues mortgage loans worth millions of dollars to straw purchasers and other borrowers. These borrowers failed to make the required mortgage payments, resulting in the loans being placed into default status.
Related stories:
Six charged in $5.5 million scam
3 indicted over alleged $2.5M loan-modification scheme
US District Judge Eric Vitaliano sentenced Dirk Hall to 41 months’ imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme that involved flips to inflate property values.
Between September 2008 and May 2011, Hall and his co-conspirators caused the submission of mortgage loan applications with false information to lending institutions in connection with the purchase of residential properties located within the Eastern District of New York.
Court filings and facts presented at hearing showed that the co-conspirators carried out “flips” by conducting simultaneous purchases and sales of properties in an effort to inflate their values.
In addition to inflated purchase prices, the applications contained false information about the assets and income of the purchasers, many of whom were paid by the co-conspirators to act as straw purchasers. The co-conspirators also submitted false down-payment checks to make it appear as if the purchasers had made down payments in connection with the sale of the properties.
As a result of the scheme, lenders were induced to issues mortgage loans worth millions of dollars to straw purchasers and other borrowers. These borrowers failed to make the required mortgage payments, resulting in the loans being placed into default status.
Related stories:
Six charged in $5.5 million scam
3 indicted over alleged $2.5M loan-modification scheme
