Mohammed Islam got away with scheme for 7 years.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian American man from Connecticut has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme that would have defrauded several banks by having them give out loans on properties that were falsely “purchased” by straw buyers.
According to a press release issued by the FBI, Mohammed N. Islam, 38, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, both of which he pleaded guilty to on Wednesday, March 12 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Court documents indicate that between 2006 and 2013, Islam would hire people to falsely purchase properties, after which point he would go to the banks to request loans on their behalf. Islam provided fake documentation for each purchase – including down payments, identity verification forms, and HUD-1 forms – and secured loans on properties that were never actually bought, thus pocketing all the money for himself.
All of the properties involved in the scheme, of which there were “dozens,” were located in Fairfield County, a south-western county in Connecticut and the most densely populated county in the entire US. Cities such as Greenwich, Stratford, and Stamford are all located in Fairfield County, making it one of the most desirable real estate locations in New England.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Islam’s malfeasance cost these financial institutions around $7 million, and several of the properties in question “ended up in foreclosure, or in short sale transactions.” Islam, who also went by the first name Tanveer, is now looking at a maximum of 30 years in prison for his role in the criminal enterprise; court documents indicate that Islam had co-conspirators who helped him with the fake papers required to obtain the loans, but does not name them nor specify how many there were, nor their currently statuses with regards to the law.
The investigation into the scheme is still ongoing, and is being investigated by the FBI. Islam will be sentenced later this year, on June 4, by Chief US District Judge Janet C. Hall.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com
1 Comment
If the 7 mln mortgage fraud is possible nowadays, the banks and other lending institutions, as well as companies like Interest Rates Mortgage Loans should work on their level of security and improve the checking processes while approving the applications. The most upsetting aspect of all these is that honest borrowers do not always manage to get the loans with proper conditions.