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Mortgage fraud directly hurts Michigan consumers. The housing market, consumers and mortgage lenders suffer when scam artists limit the ability of law-abiding citizens to obtain loans,? said Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announcing the filing of charges against four individuals for conducting a million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. ?With those loans, consumers would be buying a home or a car ? something our economy desperately needs for recovery.?
Three of the individuals, Dequincy Hyatt of Detroit, Seaesther Thompson-Hayes of Flat Rock and Aaron Brooks, Jr. of Southgate, are charged with racketeering. The fourth individual, Pietro Biundo of Washington, MI is charged with filing false documents when selling a home in one of the mortgage fraud transactions. An investigation by the Michigan State Police and Attorney General’s office revealed that in 2006, Hyatt, managing partner of J.B. Homes/Construction, LLC., Thompson-Hayes, a mortgage broker, and Brooks, a former service representative for People’s Trust Credit Union (PTCU), partnered together to perpetrate a large scale mortgage fraud.
The defendants are alleged to have sought and obtained a ’straw buyer’ for two targeted luxury properties. The first property is alleged to be a $510,000 home in Shelby Township secured by a $710,000 mortgage. After paying fees, the defendants were able to skim more that $163,000 off the transaction. The second property is alleged to be a $515,000 home in Clinton Township secured by a $785,000 mortgage. Biundo, who was the seller of the second home, is charged with filing false documents related to the transaction. The ’straw buyers’ in both transactions were told their name and credit, boosted by grossly inflated income and asset data, would be used to purchase the properties. They were further told the mortgage payments would be made for them by the defendants and their name would be removed from the mortgages. ‘Straw buyers’ were also promised compensation.
The defendants stopped making mortgage payments about a year after the transactions were completed. The straw buyers were left with mortgages in their name and unable to make payments. Both properties went into foreclosure.
Hyatt, Thompson-Hayes and Brooks have been arrested and arraigned. Each is charged with one count of continuing criminal enterprise (racketeering) which is a felony in Michigan that carries the possibility of a 20-year sentence, and two counts of false pretenses which carry 10-year sentences. Biundo, who is expected to turn himself into authorities soon, is charged with one count of false pretenses based on the filing of a falsified deed, a felony carrying a possible 5-year sentence.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Michigan Attorney General Cox has made prosecuting mortgage fraud a priority for his office. In 2008, Cox created a mortgage fraud unit and teamed up with the Michigan State Police and other law enforcement agencies to tackle the problem. Cox’s office has also held four mortgage foreclosure forums to help families stay in their homes during these difficult times.
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