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2008-04-03  MORE TOP STORIES | Five sentenced to Federal prison for mortgage fraud
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April 17, 2008
Atlanta - Virginia R. Novrit, 67, of Hilton Head, S.C., Clarence L. Davis, 68, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, Gregory J. Wings Jr., 25, of Atlanta, Olympia D. Ammons, 31, of St. Louis, Mo., and Ronald D. Martin Jr., 37, of Lithonia were sentenced this week by United States District Judge Beverly B. Martin on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering related to a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
According to United States Attorney David E. Nahmias and the information presented in court: From late 2004 through early 2006, Novrit, Davis, Wings, Ammons, and Martin participated in a mortgage fraud scheme that involved millions of dollars in fraudulently inflated mortgage loans being provided to unqualified straw borrowers. The straw borrowers were paid as much as $600,000 per property from fraudulently obtained loan proceeds through shell companies. Novrit and Davis together obtained mortgage loans totaling more than $4 million within a six month period to purchase eight properties. Wings obtained mortgage loans totaling over $1.2 million to purchase a single property by providing the lender with false qualifying information. He also recruited a number of other unqualified buyers into the scheme and obtained a share of the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds from those transactions for doing so.
Ammons was a loan originator for "Ace Mortgage Funding," a national mortgage brokerage firm. he brokered fraudulent mortgages totalling over $7 million. Martin was paid $75,000 to act as a straw buyer and submit a fraudulent loan application for one property.
Four other defendants have already been sentenced to prison terms in related cases, and five more defendants await sentencing.
"These defendants and their co-defendants are responsible for causing millions of dollars in losses to mortgage lenders by artificially inflating the sales prices on million dollar homes and submitting fraudulent loan applications to fund the purchases of these homes," said Nahmias. "In cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement agents, we will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud schemes in the metro Atlanta area."
Novrit was sentenced to 3 years, 5 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $839,585 in restitution. She was convicted by a jury Nov. 26, 2007, after a three week trial.
Davis was sentenced to 4 years, 3 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $839,585 in restitution. He was convicted by the same jury.
Wings was sentenced to 10 years, 2 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $8,577,845 in restitution. He pleaded guilty Sept. 7, 2007.
Ammons was sentenced to 5 years, 3 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $7,549,044 in restitution. She pleaded guilty Oct. 2, 2006.
Martin was sentenced to 1 year, 1 day in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $423,595 in restitution. he pleaded guilty May 16, 2007.
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Mortgage & Foreclosure, Fraud, Internal Revenue form 1099-A’s an
April 24, 2008 | 12:55 PM
Using my name and social security number, Wells Fargo filed a falsified form 1099-A –and it could happened to anyone who had or has a mortgage loan. Inaccurate or false information on an Internal Revenue form 1099-A is significant. The salient problem about an untrue form1099-A, or 1099-C, is that either forms could cause extensive and NEEDLESS tax consequences for TAX FILERS –especially, if the tax filer is oblivious that a1099-A has been reported!
Lenders and creditors probably receive undeserved tax write-offs and have distorted Securities Accounting as a result of untrue 1099's. Also, particularly when real estate is being illegally, fraudulently FLIPPED; and when Investors are being deceived; when foreclosures occur via frauds, after evidence of Wells Fargo filing FALSIFIED 1099's surfaces, THERE IS CAUSE FOR SWEEPING PROBES INTO the 1099's that Wells Fargo files with the IRS! In fact, such an investigation is probably warranted nationwide in communities which Wells Fargo does business and reports tax information on 1099-A's and 1099'C's.
I am Katrina-displaced from New Orleans. In LOUISIANA, Wells Fargo is among certain mortgage companies involved in REAL ESTATE and MORTGAGE FRAUD schemes. Because scores of people were displaced by the hurricanes of 2005, companies like Wells Fargo have much greater capacities to expand its various frauds and deceptive practices. Emphatically, the fact that thousands of people become displaced via disaster, the conceivability for Wells Fargo (and any other companies) to file false 1099-A's or 1099-C's is vast and very easy to carry off.
This past February of 2008, I learned from the IRS that in year 2006, WELLS FARGO filed a 1099-A for my former New Orleans property. (Wells never gave me a copy of that 1099-A.) The year 2005 tax transcript I obtained from the IRS shows that Wells Fargo filed an "acquisition / abandonment" form 1099-A, wherein Wells Fargo represents May 19, 2005 as the date of my home being "abandoned" / "acquired" by Wells Fargo.
To the contrary, ON MAY 19, 2005, allegedly ON BEHALF OF GE Capital Mortgage Services, Inc., a debt collector foreclosed and made his own auction bid in an amount of $120,000.00. THE DEED to my home was recorded IN THE NAME of GE Capital Mortgage Services, Inc. Thus, clearly Wells Fargo DID NOT acquire my property as Wells Fargo reported to the IRS; and at the least, a 1099-A would appear more logical if filed by GE Capital Mortgage Services. Also, Wells Fargo's 1099-A reported $12,000.00 as the Fair Market Value for my property. However, IRS publication 544 states that the FMV is deemed by the auction bid price –$120,000.00. Another notably fraudulent thing about Wells Fargo's 1099-A, is its FALSE representation of my owing to Wells Fargo $86,149.00! There's more I could point out, but the fact of the matter is that I filed a form 3949-A to rebut the 1099-A that was filed by Wells Fargo.
Also, it is worth investigating and comparing how many properties Wells Fargo under-reported the Fair Market Value to IRS, and what benefit(s) did Wells Fargo derive from those lower fair market values –which, as in my case, the FMV that Wells Fargo reported was absolutely and verifiably false. (There is MORE to this particular real estate fraud scheme –including a July 2005 report of Freddie Mac paying $86,150.00 to GE Capital Mortgage Services, Inc., for my property; Freddie Mac's purchase was printed in the August 2005 local newspaper real estate transfers section. Thus, even Freddie Mac's payment refutes the FMV reported on the 1099-A filed by Wells Fargo. Another twist to this saga is the fact that GE Capital Mortgage Services became DEFUNCT on October 25, 2002! See the Louisiana Secretary of State website, Corporations Division.)
*more about Wells Fargo / Freddie Mac at: www.lawgrace.org
Barbara Ann Jackson
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