Austin Real Estate Blog

It amazes me that no matter how many people get caught doing these mortgage fraud schemes, people still do them. Why would you think that you could run 30 scams over a 9 year period and that no one would eventually catch up to you? I guess if you scammed for 5 years and then went to some place in Bosnia you could “get away” with it, but short of that you’re going to get caught. Anyway, take a look at some of the folks involved. The vast majority are from Austin and several are licensed agents or lenders. What a shame on the industry they are. I’m glad their gone. Know of any other good stories? Send them my way and I’m happy to post them.

This article is an excerpt from The Mortgage Fraud Blog about the case.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging sixteen individuals with conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering for their roles in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Those charged include:
Cornelius Robinson, 47, Austin, Texas, leader and organizer of the conspiracy;
Silvia Seelig, 45, Austin, during the conspiracy was a licensed real estate agent and an alleged straw buyer;
George H. Watson, 55, Austin, a licensed attorney specializing in real estate transactions. Watson served as the closing attorney on numerous real estate transactions associated described in the Indictment;
James Douglas Atwood, 51, Austin, Cornelius Robinson‘s uncle and an alleged straw buyer;
Michael Breon, 39, Austin, an associate of Cornelius Robinson and an alleged straw buyer. Breon, a licensed loan officer and mortgage broker, was employed by several different loan origination and mortgage companies during the conspiracy;
Sindu Sukumaran, 36, wife of Michael Breon and an alleged straw buyer;
Doris Ann Hill, 40, Austin, a personal banker employed at Wells Fargo Bank. For a fee, Hill allegedly agreed to provide a false verification of deposit to loan underwriters in relation to real estate transactions.
Julius Meyers Lofton, 45, Austin, licensed real estate agent and an alleged straw buyer;
Roy Rivers, age 52 of Austin, friend of Cornelius Robinson and James Atwood and an alleged straw buyer;
Danielle Guice Rosas, 40, Austin, an alleged straw buyer;
Stanley Ma, 27, Honolulu, Hawaii area and an alleged straw buyer;
Leonard Brown, 38, Houston, Texas, and an alleged straw buyer who also allegedly provided a false verification of employment in association with Onyx Consulting and defendant Ma;
Russell Snead, 43, Seattle, Washington area, an associate of Cornelius Robinson and an alleged straw buyer;
Marlon Nathan Torres, 45, Hutto, Texas, an associate of Cornelius Robinson;
Jeffrey Andre Wilkins, 46, Austin, a friend of Cornelius Robinson and an alleged straw buyer; and,
Leroy Williams, 46, Austin, an alleged straw buyer.

The austin mortgage fraud indictment alleges that from September 1999 to present, the defendants participated in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders, including federally insured financial institutions, with regard to loans acquired to purchase 25 properties in the Austin and San Antonio, Texas area. The scheme centered upon the use of real estate flips. That is, the defendants purchased property at one price and would immediately sell, or flip, the property to a straw buyer at a higher price. In doing so, the mortgage lenders were deceived as to the true nature of the transaction and the financial status of the straw buyer. The straw buyers did not make the subsequent monthly mortgage payments and all of the loans have gone into default. All of loans have been either foreclosed upon or are the subject of current foreclosure proceedings.

Each defendant faces up to 30 years in federal prison upon conviction of the fraud conspiracy charge; up to 20 years in federal prison upon conviction of the money laundering conspiracy charge. In addition to the conspiracy charges, the indictment contains several substantive charges including wife fraud, false statements and receipt of commission or gift for procuring loans.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The properties involved include:

10920 Preston Trails, Austin;
3306 Pennsylvania, Austin;
4708 Heflin Lane, Austin;
5403 Pendleton, Austin;
3109 Val Drive, Austin;
1174 Graham, Austin;
5200 Meadow Field; San Antonio;
5205 Meadow Field; San Antonio;
5216 Meadow Field; San Antonio;
5221 Meadow Field; San Antonio;
5228 Meadow Field; San Antonio;
301 Lightsey, Austin;
5100 Woodmoor, Austin;
1207 Harvey, Austin;
3700 Govalle, Austin;
5011 Nixon, Austin;
3303 Hickory Creek Cove, Austin;
7412 Albert Lane, Austin;
3900 Pawnee Pass, Austin;
2507 Givens Avenue, Austin;
2904 Cherrywood, Austin;
10415 James Ryan Way, Austin;
3513 Josh Lane, Austin;
1709 Enfield, Austin;
601 Explorer, Lakeway;
12605 Lyndon, Austin;
27013 Masters Parkway, Spicewood;
4412 City Park Road, Austin;
1345 Upper ELgin River Road, Elgin;

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted for the government by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Lane.