The three defendants in the case faced up to thirty years in federal prison and a fine of up to one million dollars, a period of up to five years of supervised release to follow and mandatory restitution and forfeiture of assets. The assets in the case have a combined total of one hundred thirty five thousand one hundred forty eight dollars and forty five cents.

Mary J. Fox Ianniello, age 46 who currently resides in Los Angeles, California pleaded guilty on March 1st for her involvement in the mortgage fraud scheme. The scheme was headed by Michael Cassadei and Elmer McIndoo. The conspirators used fraudulent mortgage loan documents and appraisals to cause First Union National Bank of Delware to finance the sale of Capital Region, New York residential properties to third parties. The sales were made in excess of the actual values of the properties. The defendants used the proceeds from the mortgage loans to purchase additional properties for well under the actual values of the properties however McIndoo’s used his appraisals to inflate the values to ensure the conspirators could reap the proceeds from the difference of the sales price and the purchase price.

Ms. Ianniello assisted in the mortgage fraud scheme by submitting fraudulent mortgage applications, preparing false settlement statements and other closing documents as well as handling the distribution of the mortgage loan proceeds.

The investigation was conducted by the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police Special Investigation Unit, The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the New York Banking Commission.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York will be prosecuting the case.

Ms. Ianniello is scheduled to appear before United States District Judge Thomas McAvoy in Albany, New York on July 13, 2010 at 1 pm.

Juhl, Brandt and Felicano are accused of targeting Latino homebuyers in the Greeley area. The trio according to documents used discriminatory and predatory practices that caused the homebuyers to eventually lose the homes to foreclosure.

Juhl was the former director of New Frontier Bank which is now defunct. The trio marketed and focused their advertising in Spanish media markets and hired bilingual sales staff to entice Latino Homebuyers to purchase properties that they were not financially able to purchase.

The trio’s company JC Distinguished Finance LLC led Latino homebuyers to believe that JC Distinguished Finance LLC was a trusted mortgage broker as they hired employees that shared similar cultural heritage. The Latino homebuyers were promised they could refinance within a couple of years and make a profit from the refinance. The Latino homebuyers that attempted to refinance were told their homes were not worth what they paid for them and that no equity was available to refinance.

The vast majority of the homebuyers were referred by Mark Strodtman. Mr. Strodtman was convicted of mortgage fraud and sentenced to thirty one years in prison.

Juhl, Brandt and Felicano have all been fined ten thousand dollars each and have been ordered by the court to stop any and all illegal discriminatory housing practices that may be going on a JC Distinguished Finance LLC.

Attorney General Jerry Brown warned citizens of California to be on alert. He mentioned that foreclosure consultants are prohibited by law from collecting upfront fees for services; to never ignore letters from your lender; never transfer your title or sell your home to a foreclosure rescuer; never pay your mortgage payments to anyone other than the lender and never sign any documents without reading them first.

KCRA’s Walt Gray followed up on this story and approached industry expert US Loan Auditor’s Shane Barker. Mr. Barker applauds Attorney General Jerry Brown’s efforts to shut down the scam artists that are plaguing the loan auditing business. Individuals who truly need the help of businesses such as US Loan Auditors are not getting the assistance they require because of the phony foreclosure companies out there.

US Loan Auditors is one of the legitimate loan-auditing companies out there.  US Loan Auditors is a private business that is in the business of helping victims of predatory lending. The company reviews mortgage loan documents to see if any violations were made during the loan process. US Loan Auditors reviews the loan documents to see if there was any usury abuse, vulnerable adult abuse, predatory lending or fraud.

Mr. Barker explained that some of the ways to avoid becoming a victim of the scams is to be proactive. Mr. Barker stated there are no guarantees that your loan can be modified and any company claiming otherwise is more than likely a scam.

Mr. Barker advised consumers to check with the Better Business Bureau to confirm whom you’re dealing with and that the company is creditible. He further recommended that you should not do all your business over the phone; go visit the company to get a feel if they are legitimate or not.

Mr. Barker explained to Walt Gray that many victims are scammed twice because they don’t review the paperwork or they don’t have an attorney review the paperwork.

US Loan Auditors is listed as one of the creditible loan auditing firms available to KCRA viewers.  For more information about US Loan Auditors, or to get a free initial consultation for your mortgage loan, please call 916-256-3991 or visit them online at www.usloanauditors.com.

US Loan Auditors has three locations: Rancho Cordova, Sacramento and San Jose, California.

Attorney Stein and the client he represents Warren George were able to stop the foreclosure on the Georges suburban California home. The Georges went through the process of a trail loan modification with One West Bank. The couple negotiated the mortgage payments on their home from $2,600 a month down to $1,600 a month. The George’s have made over seven months of payment since the loan modification. Their payments have all been made on time; however One West Bank is still seeking to foreclose on the couple’s home.

Attorney Stein from Elk Grove, California was able get a district judge stop the foreclosure and it could be the only case to date where the homeowner didn’t have to pay a bond. The judge ordered injunction and while that doesn’t guarantee the George’s from losing their home; it does allow more time for the bank and Attorney Stein to come to a reasonable solution.

Attorney Stein points out that One West Bank reached out to the George’s and offered them a trial modification with a signed contract. Mr. Stein stated that One West Bank accepted the George’s seven months of payments and that his clients have done everything the bank has required them to do yet they are still seeking to foreclose on the property.

Shane Barker from US Loan Auditors stated that companies by law are not allowed to foreclose after a modification has been reached and the homeowners are following the requirements but they still do. He stated that it’s unfortunate for the homeowner. US Loan Auditors is a private company that specialist in cases like this. The company completes a forensic audit of the loan documentation to see if any usury, elder abuse, or fraud are involved.  The George’s case is the type of case that US Loan Auditors would be involved in although they were not directly involved in the George’s case.

US Loan Auditors would conduct a full investigation and audit of the documents, facts and circumstances surrounding a predatory loan and submit the findings to an attorney such as Attorney Stein.  After review, the litigation support team would prepare all of the documents necessary prosecute the case in court.

Attorney Stein has utilized both US Loan Auditors auditing services and their litigation support services. Each company’s purpose is to leave the paper work to US Loan Auditors so Attorneys, like Mr. Stein, can do what they do best, be Attorneys.

Millions of homeowners have been lured into payment plans that are a temporary fix with a false sense of permanent loan restructuring to follow. According to the numbers that have been compiled over eleven months only one in ten homeowners have had their mortgage permanently modified.

Homeowners in those trial modifications for example short term payment plans account for over one million and were given until January 31st to convert to a permanent modification which makes the numbers of one in ten mortgages being modified disturbing at best.

The United States Treasury reports that thirty three percent of those homeowners in trial modifications have actually missed payments during the modification trial period. The percentage translates into over five hundred thousand homeowners in trial modification are not making payments on time and are being forced out of the modification program according to the treasury presumably due do missing paperwork.

Mortgage servicers prior to the Home Affordable Modification Program were permanently modifying approximately one hundred thousand loans month. Home Affordable Modification Program numbers show that the programs highest monthly numbers to date was fifty thousand additional permanent modifications by January of this year. New foreclosures filings every month are adding two hundred fifty thousand to three hundred thousand properties to this catastrophe every single month and increasing.

The United State Treasury attempting to put a positive spin pointed out that seventy six thousand modification offers were still pending at the end of January which could be added to the one hundred sixteen thousand completed modification loans. Forty six thousand of those offers however were pending in December which the treasury used in it January figure. Defaults, foreclosures, and foreclosure sales are conducted monthly and to give an assessment on an eleven month total is not a fair assessment. If we were to receive a fair assessment of the Home Affordable Modification Program the treasury should put the numbers out showing the monthly totals.

The servicers in the game for their part are lacking as well. Bank of America is still behind all of its competitors when it comes to permanent modifications. Bank of America has only completed three thousand two hundred permanent modifications of the million eligible mortgages. Bank of America’s competitors are producing ten times that when it comes to trial modifications and conversion of rates. Bank of America in addition holds more eligible delinquent mortgages than any other company.

The Home Affordable Modification Program is a failure and the administration needs to address its response to the mortgage crisis.

Assistant United States Attorney Jeb Boatman successfully prosecuted the case against Ms. Quiroga in which Ms. Quiroga admitted that she did not file income tax returns for the 2007 tax year in which she obtain a gross income of over two million five hundred thousand dollars. She also admitted to laundering money.

Dawn Quiroga, age 40, who is originally from Edmond, Oklahoma and not resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was convicted of petitioning investors for funds in a business that would provide a return on down payment assistance programs. Ms. Quiroga called the business Buyers Solutions Marketing, LLC. The program was to provide short term, high interest rate loans to homebuyers to use as down payments on the purchase of the homebuyers purchase mortgage loan. The investors would fund the down payments for the homebuyers to purchase the property involved and the investors would receive a return on their investment once the mortgage loan was closed.

Buyers Solutions Marketing, LLC was not performing and it was clear that the business was going under. Ms. Quiroga knowingly continued to petition investors into Buyers Solutions Marketing, LLC even though the company was failing. The funds she obtained from new investors went to make payments to previous investors in the business for approximately two years. Ms. Quiroga also used funds coming into Buyers Solutions Marketing, LLC to purchase personal expenses and maintain her life style. She purchased new cars, property and large items for her home using investor’s funds.

According to United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, Sanford Coats, Dawn Quiroga has been sentenced to ninety seven months or eight years, eight months in federal prison on the charge of money laundering and failure to file tax returns. She has also been ordered to pay restitution of over four million dollars and to service three years of supervised release once her initial sentence has been served.

Mr. Hockfelder is not a new player to investment fraud according to court records Mr. Hockfelder was indicted in 2008 for his involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme in which seventeen million dollars was acquired through fraudulent loans from banks. The loans were acquired through family and friends and various real estate ventures.

Mr. Hockfelder used his family, friends and business associates’ to scam them out of millions of dollars through his fraudulent business deals. He continuously scammed those who believed he was a legitimate businessman.  Investment scams of this type of serial nature threaten the financial future of all the investors involved and leave nothing but victims behind according to District Attorney, Cyrus Vance.

Court documents on Mr. Hockfelder’s current indictment and his indictment in 2008 reveal that Mr. Hockfelder used the same scam in both scenarios. He represented himself as being under contract to with the seller in both the Sagamore Hotel on Lake George and the Peaks Resort and Spa in Telluride, Colorado. Mr. Hockfelder was a bidder in both projects but never was able to acquire financing in either deal. Mr. Hockfelder never revealed that information to the investors he acquired funds from. Investors that contacted Mr. Hockfelder requesting their funds back where assured that there funds were safe in a family trust. He provided investors with fraudulent documents reporting that family trust had over twenty six million dollars in it.

The funds that Mr. Hockfelder obtained from investors were used to maintain his extravagant life style. Investors were actually paying for Mr. Hockfelders personal drivers, his children’s private schools, private jets, business expenses and over three hundred thousand dollars for lawyers to defend his legal indictment from 2008. Investors were told that funds were going into an escrow account pending the closing of both deals and that if the deals did not close they would receive the return of their monies.

Mr. Hockfelder in the current indictment is charged with one count first degree grand larceny, four counts of second degree grand larceny, three counts of third degree grand larceny, nine counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, twelve counts of first degree identity theft and two counts of first degree scheme to defraud.

The counts against him in his original indictment from 2008 include six counts of grand larceny, two counts of second degree grand larceny, twenty four counts of second degree forgery, twenty four counts of first degree falsified business records, one count of first degree scheme to defraud and one count of first degree offering a false instrument for filing.

First degree grand larceny is punishable by up to twenty five years in prison, second degree grand larceny is punishable by up to fifteen years in prison, third degree is punishable by up to seven years in prison and first degree scheme to defraud is punishable by up to four years in prison.

The District Attorney advises that indictments are merely an allegation that a crime has been committed and that the defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Assistant prosecutor Nick Mehalco Jr. stated that seven four thousand dollars was seized from Mr. Young as part of the investigation and will be dispersed among the victims who can be identified.

Mr. Young admitted to working with several other individuals in a scheme to defraud mortgage lending institutions. He further admitted to hiring a female co-conspirator to forge tax returns in order to qualify a straw-buyer who did not qualify for the property.

Mr. Young admitted that he also worked with co-conspirators to defraud mortgage lending institutions by the use of inflated property values throughout the Jackson area. The properties were purchased and then allowed to go into foreclosure. Mr. Young purchased three properties and in one of the cases an appraiser valued the property at fifty nine thousand dollars and a straw buyer purchased it for ninety nine thousand dollars.

All individual conspirators in the case have been apprehended and are awaiting trial.

Mr. Young is scheduled to be sentenced on April 1st. He faces a maximum sentence of ten years for each count against him and a fifteen thousand dollar fine.