MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR PART IN FORECLOSURE RESUCE SCAM

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Las Vegas Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Foreclosure Rescue Scam and Theft of Government Funds

WASHINGTON – A Las Vegas man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for operating a foreclosure rescue scam that defrauded distressed homeowners who were struggling to pay their mortgages, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.

Alex P. Soria, 65, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George in the District of Nevada. In addition to his prison term, Soria was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $320,266 in restitution.

In August 2012, Soria pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with his scheme to defraud distressed homeowners and one count of theft of government funds for defrauding the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits program.

According to court documents, Soria identified homeowners whose mortgage debt exceeded the value of their homes and charged them a fee purportedly to reduce the principal balance of their mortgages using money from the Department of the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Soria admitted in court that he lied to homeowners about his affiliation with several mortgage lenders and that he provided victims with fraudulent letters stating they had been approved for loans. Soria also admitted he falsely told victims that his loan program had been successful in the past and charged homeowners for loan modifications he knew he could not deliver. Court documents show that Soria concealed from homeowners the fact that the state of Nevada had issued a cease and desist order which legally prohibited him from working in the mortgage industry. Soria collected over $100,000 in fees from distressed homeowners, many of whom lost their homes to foreclosure after Soria failed to deliver the loan modifications he promised.

As part of the same case, Soria also admitted to stealing government funds by continuing to collect Social Security Disability Insurance benefits while at the same time receiving income from his foreclosure relief operation. The Social Security Disability Insurance program is a federal program that replaces the wages of individuals who become unable to work due to a disability. Soria admitted to collecting over $200,000 in disability benefits from 1990 to 2010 while at the same time receiving income that he concealed from the Social Security Administration.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Brian R. Young and Mary Ann McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada assisted with the investigation and prosecution. The case was investigated by the Offices of Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Social Security Administration.

This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAM

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty to Foreclosure Rescue Scam and Theft of Government Funds
WASHINGTON – A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty today to operating a foreclosure rescue scam that defrauded distressed homeowners who were struggling to pay their mortgages, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Alex P. Soria, 65, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George in the District of Nevada to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft of government funds in connection with a scheme to defraud homeowners who were behind on their mortgages.

According to court documents, Soria identified homeowners whose mortgage debt exceeded the value of their homes and charged them a fee purportedly to reduce the principal balance of their mortgages using money from the Department of the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Soria admitted in court that he lied to homeowners about his affiliation with several mortgage lenders and that he provided victims with fraudulent letters stating they had been approved for loans. Soria also admitted he falsely told victims that his loan program had been successful in the past and charged homeowners for loan modifications he knew he could not deliver. Court documents show that Soria concealed from homeowners the fact that the state of Nevada had issued a cease and desist order which legally prohibited him from working in the mortgage industry. Soria collected more than $100,000 in fees from distressed homeowners, many of whom lost their homes to foreclosure after Soria failed to deliver the loan modifications he promised.

As part of the same case, Soria also pleaded guilty to continuing to collect Social Security Disability Insurance benefits while at the same time receiving income from his foreclosure rescue operation. The Social Security Disability Insurance program is a federal program that replaces the wages of individuals who become unable to work due to a disability. Soria admitted to collecting more than $200,000 in disability benefits from 1990 to 2010 while at the same time receiving income that he concealed from the Social Security Administration.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Brian R. Young and Mary Ann McCarthy of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the Offices of Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Social Security Administration. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada assisted with the investigation and prosecution of this case.

FUGITIVE CAUGHT IN CANADA AND INDICTED FOR FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Friday, August 17, 2012
Twelve-Year Federal Fugitive Indicted for Fraud and Identity Theft in Nationwide Foreclosure Rescue Scam
Defendant Arrested by Canadian Authorities; Allegedly Collected More Than $1 Million from More Than 800 Distressed Homeowners
　
WASHINGTON – Federal authorities have charged a former Los Angeles man with aggravated identity theft and having operated a foreclosure-rescue scam in Southern California and elsewhere that promised to postpone foreclosure sales for more than 800 distressed homeowners.
　

Glen Alan Ward, 47, of Canada, was indicted today in the Central District of California on two counts of bankruptcy fraud, one count of mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
　
In 2000, Ward became a federal fugitive when he failed to appear in court after signing a plea agreement, which stemmed from federal charges in the Central District of California associated with a similar scheme. On April 5, 2012, Ward was arrested in Canada on a U.S. provisional arrest warrant based on the charges in the Central District of California. His extradition to the United States is pending.
　
Today’s indictment charges the defendant with identity theft and a scheme to defraud that took place from July 2007 to April 5, 2012, while he was a fugitive. According to the indictment, Ward led a scheme that solicited and recruited homeowners whose properties were in danger of imminent foreclosure. Ward allegedly promised to delay their foreclosures for as long as the homeowners could afford his $700 monthly fee. Once a homeowner paid the fee, Ward accessed a public bankruptcy database and retrieved the name of an individual debtor who recently filed bankruptcy. The indictment alleges that Ward also obtained a copy of the debtor’s bankruptcy petition and directed his clients to execute, notarize and record a grant deed transferring a 1/100th fractional interest in their distressed home into the name of the debtor he provided. Then, Ward allegedly faxed a copy of the bankruptcy petition, the notarized grant deed and a cover letter to the homeowner’s lender or the lender’s representative, directing it to stop the impending foreclosure sale due to the bankruptcy.
　
Because bankruptcy filings give rise to automatic stays that protect debtors’ properties, the receipt of the bankruptcy petitions and deeds in the debtors’ names forced lenders to cancel foreclosure sales. The lenders, which included banks that received government funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), could not move forward to collect money that was owed to them until getting permission from the bankruptcy courts, thereby repeatedly delaying the lenders’ recovery of their money.
　
As part of the scheme, Ward delayed the foreclosure sales of approximately 824 distressed properties by using at least 414 bankruptcies filed in 26 judicial districts across the country. During that same period, Ward collected more than $1 million from his clients who paid for his illegal foreclosure-delay services.
　
The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California, Acting Assistant Director in Charge Timothy Delaney of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, and Christy Romero, Deputy Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).
　
"Today’s charges underscore our commitment to relentlessly pursue those who prey on the vulnerabilities of distressed homeowners to defraud lenders and pad their own pockets," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "As this case illustrates, we will not stop pursuing them, no matter where they are, and no matter how long it takes.
　
"Con artists who seek to victimize homeowners in distress are truly shameless," said U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California André Birotte Jr. "The long arm of the law can and will find and reach such financial pirates wherever they hide, and we will be tireless in our pursuit of justice for the people they victimize."
　
"Ward was on the lam for 12 years running from earlier charges of bankruptcy fraud, and it’s time he answered for his alleged conduct," said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General at SIGTARP. "In order to advance his scheme, from at least July 2007 until the time of his arrest in Canada in April, Ward allegedly stole the identities of unsuspecting U.S. taxpayers already in the dire straits of bankruptcy proceedings and exploited civil protections under bankruptcy law to defraud lenders, including multiple TARP recipients, and distressed homeowners facing foreclosure. SIGTARP and our partners in law enforcement will continue to hold accountable those responsible for all fraud related to TARP."
　
"Mr. Ward’s fugitive odyssey is over, in large part thanks to our Canadian law enforcement partners," said Timothy Delaney, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. "The charges against Mr. Ward tell a disturbing tale of avarice whereby scores of homeowners facing foreclosure were further victimized. The FBI will continue to work with our partners at SIGTARP and at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to tackle this reprehensible crime problem facing Americans."
　
The crime of bankruptcy fraud carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Each aggravated identity theft charge carries a two-year mandatory, consecutive sentence.
　
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Paul Rosen of the Fraud Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Davis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The investigation was conducted by the SIGTARP and the FBI, which received substantial assistance from the U.S. Trustee’s Office.
　
This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants.