Although mortgage fraud is harder since the financial crisis, many of those would-be crooks have moved on to the next real-estate related scam: Using all those vacant properties to rip-off renters by posting bogus craigslist adds and posing as the owners or property managers. Fortunately […]
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Young Hackers Plead Guilty to IP Theft Conspiracy
On January 20, 2015, the DOJ reported a third guilty plea by a young hacker to a conspiracty to break into the networks of tech companies and steal intellectual property. All four of the alleged conspirators are under 30 years old, and one was only 19. The intended […]
Man Sentenced for Straw-Buyer Mortgage Fraud Scheme
On January 23, 2015, Wasseem Shamoun was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in defrauding banks as part of a straw-buyer scheme. The indictment alleged the scheme took place from approximately January 2006 through December 2008, so this prosecution falls within the DOJ’s […]
Real Estate Investors Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging and Fraud at Public Foreclosure Auctions
Late last month, the DOJ issued a press release announcing guilty please of two Georgia men for bid rigging in real estate auctions. According to court documents, Mohammad Adeel Yoonas and Kevin Shin and several co-conspirators worked together by not bidding against each other and, instead, designating […]
Feds and 19 States Obtain $1.375 Billion Settlement with S&P
Resolving allegations that S&P had engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in real-estate focused financial products, Eric Holder announced a $1.375 billion settlement between Standard & Poor and the DOJ and 19 states. This settlement is among other civil and criminal prosecutions the […]