Seven Californians face up to 30 years in prison each if convicted in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme
Seven California residents have been indicted for allegedly taking part in a massive mortgage fraud scheme.
The seven Californians – Jyoteshna Karan, Praveen Singh, Mahendra Prasad, Phul Singh, Sunita Singh, Nani Isaac and Martin Bahrami – allegedly conspired to defraud mortgage lending companies and financial institutions by making false statements on loan and short sale applications to obtain properties both in their own names and in the names of others.
According to the indictment, the conspirators worked the scam on at least 25 properties, costing lenders more than $3 million.
“Early this morning, SIGTARP agents and our law enforcement partners arrested or served summons on seven individuals who stand charged with operating a fraud scheme that cost financial institutions, including multiple TARP banks, millions of dollars in losses,” said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP. “The seven allegedly conspired to falsify information on mortgage loan and short-sale applications submitted to multiple financial institutions in order to obtain properties across Eastern California. SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate allegations of fraud perpetrated at the expense of taxpayers’ TARP bank investments and bring accountability to those who engage in these schemes.”
If convicted, each defendant could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
The seven Californians – Jyoteshna Karan, Praveen Singh, Mahendra Prasad, Phul Singh, Sunita Singh, Nani Isaac and Martin Bahrami – allegedly conspired to defraud mortgage lending companies and financial institutions by making false statements on loan and short sale applications to obtain properties both in their own names and in the names of others.
According to the indictment, the conspirators worked the scam on at least 25 properties, costing lenders more than $3 million.
“Early this morning, SIGTARP agents and our law enforcement partners arrested or served summons on seven individuals who stand charged with operating a fraud scheme that cost financial institutions, including multiple TARP banks, millions of dollars in losses,” said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP. “The seven allegedly conspired to falsify information on mortgage loan and short-sale applications submitted to multiple financial institutions in order to obtain properties across Eastern California. SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate allegations of fraud perpetrated at the expense of taxpayers’ TARP bank investments and bring accountability to those who engage in these schemes.”
If convicted, each defendant could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
