South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Alex Smart, 30, was arrested Monday afternoon with 2 counts of first degree murder and a count of second degree murder. Three slayings in the Orlando are allegedly connected to Smart, prompting federal agents to arrest the man. The murders were called “heinous” and “bloody” by many involved in the investigations. The shootings took place at the Palms Apartments on July 30.
Florida Coast Guard Seize Lots of Marijuana
A 29-foot US flagged white boat was found to be in possession of roughly $2.5 million dollars worth of marijuana. The Coast Guard boarded the vessel and found the 1250 pounds of pot and offloaded it at Sector Miami soon after detection and seizure. Initially the Coast Guard went on board to conduct a standard safety inspection but then quickly became alerted to the marijuana which was in plain view. This would be Cutter Dolphin’s first drug bust in service for the Coast Guard. The smugglers caught on the ship were detained and transferred into custody of the US Customs and Border Protection. Overall, supervisors said this was one of the largest busts in recent history and a proud first for the crew of the Cutter Dolphin and Sector Miami Coast Guard division.
Multi-million dollar settlement of Florida mortgage company
Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. will be paying $9 million in a settlement to the state of New Jersey. In part of a multi-state settlement with a Florida-based mortgage company, the corporation was accused of mortgage fraud by selling high risk mortgages and using shady lending procedures. The state banking agency identifying as the plaintiff in this case also claimed that half of the money to be dispersed in the settlement will go to the national system in progress that will attempt to prevent fraud and make the mortgage regulation process more efficient.
Over $3 billion in assets were apparent in the Ocala, FL company. $30 billion in loans were made annually as well. TBW gave over $100,000 in refunds in response to erroneously charged fees to all their New Jersey customers from 2006. The Obama administration’s foreclosure prevention program, known as the Making Home Affordable program, will be used in the guidelines the TBW corporation will adapt with in relations with their customers with loans.
Florida Mortgage Fraud Investigated by Attorney General
Gideon Rechnitz currently faces two lawsuits of mortgage fraud in Sarasota County, including one by 71-year-old Yolanda Rodriguez. She claims that in 2006 Rechnitz improperly evicted her and her deaf brother from their home, which he acknowledged in a deposition was worth far more than the $150,000 Rodriguez owed on her mortgage. Rechnitz said in the fall that his foreclosure rescue business had slowed considerably in 2008 because it was harder to find people like Rodriguez with substantial equity. But as homeowners who got 100 percent financing now struggle to renegotiate their mortgage terms, state records show he recently started a new company called Loan Modification Enterprises.
Florida Prosecutions of Mortgage Fraud: Part 14 Final
In conclusion of Attorney Ralph Behr’s personal thesis on mortgage fraud prosecution:
On the other hand, this defense would not be legally cognizable under § 817.545, Fla. Stat. (2009) and two other federal statutes aforementioned.115 § 817.545, Fla. Stat. (2009) concerning violations committed during the mortgage lending process do not require a person or entity to rely or to be injured by a defendant’s fraudulent activity it is enough that “..any material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission…” is made “…with the intention that the misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission will be relied on…”116 This statute is more aligned with two other federal statutes punishing statements or omissions on applications or forms submitted to federally approved agencies that are in the business of extending credit, 18 U.S.C. § 1010 (2009) and 18 § U.S.C. 1014 (2009). The actual submittal of these forms or applications for loan or credit advances coupled with either the “…intent that such loan or advance of credit shall be offered to or accepted…”117 or “…for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of…” any federally approved agency in the business of extending credit118 would be sufficient for a conviction under either statute.
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Any use of the previous article requires written permission from Attorney Ralph Behr and from this website and its subsidiaries under State and Federal Law. DO NOT copy and use the text provided above and/or publish as your own. The document may only be used for private study or distributing among peers in paper, not on internet transmission, with no intent to make profit or sell without credit being due to the original author.
Florida Prosecutions of Mortgage Fraud: Part 13
§ 877.54, Fla. Stat. (2009) should be reduced to an attempt because the crime was not completed.108 The defendant reasoned the corporation “…was not deceived as a result of any false representations and issued the check in an attempt to lure her presence and facilitate her arrest.”109 The court agreed with the defendant and determined the record did “…not demonstrate reliance by the victim on the defendant’s misrepresentations.”110
Furthermore, § 877.54, Fla. Stat. (2009) and § 877.10, Fla. Stat. (2009) are similar to the mail, wire and bank fraud statutes because it is evidence of a defendant’s involvement in “…the scheme to defraud and not actual fraud that is required.”111 “No particular type of victim is required…nor need the scheme have succeeded.”112 Although the government need not prove there is any reliance or injury, it must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the evidence shows a “…willful participation in [the] scheme with knowledge of its fraudulent nature and with intent that these illicit objectives be achieved.”113 However, a defendant may have a complete defense to wire fraud, bank fraud, or money laundering negating the specific intent element of the statutes if a jury determines a defendant acted in a good faith belief his or her actions were not illegal.114
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Any use of the previous article requires written permission from Attorney Ralph Behr and from this website and its subsidiaries under State and Federal Law. DO NOT copy and use the text provided above and/or publish as your own. The document may only be used for private study or distributing among peers in paper, not on internet transmission, with no intent to make profit or sell without credit being due to the original author.
Florida Foreclosures On the Rise
The number of foreclosures in Miami-Dade and Broward continued rising last month, as mounting job losses crippled borrowers’ ability to make monthly payments and lenders lifted previous foreclosure moratoriums and resumed legal action against delinquent accounts. In Miami-Dade County, lenders filed 3,043 initial foreclosure actions against homeowners and reclaimed 819 homes through foreclosure. Hundreds more were scheduled for auction at the courthouse, according to a monthly foreclosure report from Irving, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.
Many lenders suspended foreclosures in the first half of the year as they waited for the Obama administration to release details of a national foreclosure prevention initiative. In February, it launched the Making Home Affordable Plan, which is expected to help as many as 9 million borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing or modifying their current mortgages.
Florida Woman Sentenced in Fraud Case
Lorraine Rich, 58, from Bangor, Maine, has been sentenced to jail for four months in a case US Attorney Paula Silsby has pursued. Rich received $33,000 from the government in a fraudulent manner. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development has been ordered as the recipient of fines to be paid in restitution by Lorraine Rich and her crime. Rich was documented as using veterans’ benefits for her family member. Rich’s aunt had continued to collect money even after the aunt’s death. This fraudulent crime is a white collar crime of sorts and is just one of many that the government is currently collecting on during the massive tax and money crunch we all face in this economy.
Cocaine Florida Trafficker Sentenced Severely
Marco Antonio Perez Torres, 36, is in custody now stemming from charges of narcotics trafficking. Torres was arrested in 2007 during an operation conducted by the Volusia Bureau of Investigation. He pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking and conspiracy of 400 grams or more of cocaine. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement will take custody of Torres following this conviction in order to process his deportation.
Florida Mortgage Fraud Ring Under Arrest
Nine people have been charged in connection with a $2.4 million dollar mortgage fraud conspiracy. The ring was led by a leader based in Alachua County as well as among for other counties. FDLE made all 9 arrests last Tuesday and said that 17 homes are under investigation in Marion County. William H. King, 52, and Beverly Ann King, 52, are the alleged leaders of the group. The formal charges levied against King and the other 7 in the ring were criminal racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering (RICO).
A chief investigator in the arrests said that the organization they had just apprehended is no different than any other organization in that it requires “a lot of people ot get the job done – mortgage brokers, notary publics, people working in a title company, people who are appraisers. It takes all of these people to get a loan through. And what these people did was work together to deceive the mortgage lenders.”