Dec
Discussion with a Mortgage Fraudster: How to steal $600K
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How the conversation occurred
My wife is Russian and we met because I lived in Russia for several years. We often have “Russian parties” where it seems that there are only Russian wives and the American husbands. Although I speak excellent Russian, I am often left to talk with the American husbands, so the ladies can gossip. Usually, I have little in common with the guys other than the Russian spouse so it can be a bit awkward at times. However, sometimes it can be interesting…
Why he started
Recently at one of these occasions, I met a man dating one of my wife’s friends who readily admitted to defaulting on over half a million dollars in mortgages to one of America’s largest banks. He explained that he had a small chain of stores that was running short of cash so he needed cash to fund the shortage. He also worked as a manager in a home construction business so he was familiar with real estate, appraisals, and mortgage financing.
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Since the main business was short on cash, he decided to buy an undervalued house and refinance it at above market value to bring in some cash. (The properties he purchased were undervalued on paper only and not based upon actual condition.) He pulled a list of low value for sale properties Read the rest of this entry »



