South Carolina Criminal Lawyer Blog

Another realtor has plead guilty to mortgage fraud. The case is out of North Carolina and is just the beginning of what many government officials are calling a nationwide investigation into real estate investments. Gregory Rankin plead guilty to a mortgage fraud scheme that is said to have been related to over $15 million in loans and 270 properties in Mecklenburg County. Charlotte is the largest city in North Carolina and as such will be the most investigated city for mortgage fraud in the Carolinas. Rankin was realtor agent for the Charlotte company Realty Solutions. There are 5 other defendants on the indictment as co-conspirators to counts of mail, bank and wire fraud. Based on the amount of money and the amount of properties involved, each defendant, including Rankin is facing prison time under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Rankin is charged with being involved in 4 mortgage fraud schemes that defrauded the lenders. In this case the government has alleged a builder kickback scheme. This is when the builder gives back a portion of the purchase price to the buyer or the real estate agent or real estate broker.

Rankin has agreed to cooperate with the government. This will mean he is the so called "flip" for this case. He will now prepare to be debriefed by the government. He will give up all his co-defendants and anyone else in order to reduce his prison time exposure. The government will request the judge to reduce Rankin's prison term based upon his cooperation. If Rankin can give enough information and testify for the government, he may well get out of serving any prison time.

Continue reading "North Carolina Mortgage Fraud Conviction" »

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In a 5-4 decision, the U.S Supreme has ruled that state laws allowing the death penalty when a person is convicted of rape of a child is unconstitutional and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. South Carolina is one of the states that will be affected by this ruling. Currently, if a person is convicted of raping a child in in South Carolina, including but not limited to Horry County, Lexington County, Chester County, Charleston County, Georgetown County, Florence County and Beaufort County, and has a previous conviction of rape of a minor, the defendant could face the death penalty.

The Supreme Court of South Carolina will most like invalidate this state law with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. Most death penalty cases involve the death of a victim. Additionally, the death penalty is addressed in a separate sentencing hearing once a defendant has been convicted. During the sentencing hearing, a jury does not decide guilt or innocence, but decides whether the person charged should receive life in prison, life in prison without the possibility of parole, or a death sentence.

Once a person is sentenced to death, they have an automatic appeal to the Supreme Court of South Carolina. The State Supreme Court reviews the case to make sure that all of the state laws were followed, that a defendant received a fair trial, was constitutional, and that the punishment fits the crime. A PCR hearing, or post-conviction relief hearing, is usually held on various post conviction issues. One of the major issues addressed on a post conviction relief hearing is ineffective assistance of counsel. A defendant receives ineffective assistance if a defense attorney’s performance at trial was deficient, below the standard of conduct and that the defendant most likely would not have been convicted but for the defense attorney’s errors.

However, a post conviction hearing is not held until the initial appeal has been denied al all other remedies have been exhausted. Another scenario in which a defendant may have a death sentence overturned is through newly discovered evidence. This includes DNA testing. DNA evidence can be a very important aspect of a criminal case or trial and not just for death penalty cases. Only time will tell the impact of this recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and whether it will effect other state criminal laws.

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In recent news, Anne Hathaway's former boyfriend, Raffaello Follieri, has been arrested in Manhattan, New York on federal criminal charges. He was arrested on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. When a person is indicted on counts of wire fraud and conspiracy, it is usually a federal criminal case. Therefore, an excellent federal criminal defense attorney is needed to defend the case.
Mr. Follieri should be able to get a bond on these charges, and will most likely plead not guilty to these federal crimes. Reports have indicated that he has been the subject of an extensive investigation by federal authorities in New York. A good criminal defense lawyer will demand to be notified of all the evidence, reports, and records linking the defendant to the crime.
In order to be convicted of conspiracy, whether it is in New York, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Southern District of Florida or the District of South Carolina, the government must prove that there was an agreement between two or more individuals to participate in some kind of illegal activity. The government will not have to prove that the defendant actually committed wire fraud, but will only have to prove that there was an agreement to commit wire fraud.
If a person in Myrtle Beach, Garden City, Surfside beach or Conway was charged in federal Court with conspiracy to commit wire fraud or money laundering, the case would be heard in District of South Carolin, Florence Division. If a person was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud or money laundering in Charleston, the case would be heard in the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division.
If there is a great deal of evidence linking Mr. Follieri to these charges, he may plead guilty to these charges. If he pleads guilty, he will attend his sentencing hearing in federal court shortly thereafter. Although the sentencing guidelines are advisory pursuant to the landmark case of Booker, the District Court Judge still uses them as a reference. The sentencing guidelines take into consideration a personís criminal history. Mr. Folleri most like has a criminal history of zero, meaning he was never been convicted of a crime. However, if he lies or impedes the ongoing investigation, he may face additional charges of perjury or obstruction of justice. His sentencing guideline range may be enhanced if he also does not fully cooperate with authorities.
Mr. Follieri should hire an attorney as soon as possible, to ensure that he receives proper defense in all aspects of his case.

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In Columbia, South Carolina, 3 defendants were freed on bond after being indicted on mail fraud charges. The 3 defendants (Tony Pough, Tim McQueen, and Joseph Brunson) are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The defendants allegedly were presenting an investment plan called "3 Hebrew Boys." The United States Attorney Office in Columbia has stated that the total loss is around $80 million with over 7000 victims. This is the major problem with a mail fraud indictment. The government is most likely over exaggerating the actual loss that may have occurred in this case. The mail fraud count is charged under the conspiracy doctrine. This is a concept that most Americans and Europeans do not understand because it would seem to go against the traditions of our countries.

Under the conspiracy indictment, any company or person that participates or furthers the interest of a crime is guilty of conspiracy to commit the crime. In practical terms, this means that even if you do not know what your are helping someone do or loaning money for, you could be charged as a coconspirator by the federal government. I have defended many clients for mail fraud and each time the amount of loss given by the government is never correct. The amount is always higher than my client was responsible for in the case. The reason that the numbers are always increased is because it increases the amount of exposure to prison time and the amount of asset forfeitures that may occur. One of the best ways to defend a mail fraud indictment is to contest the amount of loss attributable to a client. In this Columbia indictment, there is no way each of these defendants is responsible for this $80 million. The other avenue to pursue in defending this case is the Legally Compelled Mailing Doctrine. This doctrine is a defense to mail fraud.

Lastly, if there was an actual loss of $80 million, there will be superseding indictment filed against these defendants for other charges. These charges will include wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and possible tax fraud.

Continue reading ""3 Hebrew Boys"" »

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Recently an article on mortgage fraud in South Carolina was published on the Morning News Reporter column in South Carolina Now. The article described the reasons for the decrease in mortgage fraud indictments. These reasons do not make much sense to me. I have continually defended clients for mortgage fraud and the recent addition of a mortgage fraud hotline in South Carolina should increase the incidents of these cases, not decrease. The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs credit the mortgage fraud hotline as a measure that has reduced the mortgage fraud rate. This hotline was just instituted in the past few months. Most of the lending and real estate transactions occurred prior to the recession and prior to this hotline.

As I have mentioned previously, mortgage fraud is going to increase dramatically this year and next year as the Justice Department has recently asked the FBI to assign over 100 agents to investigate these allegations. You can bet that there will be some innocent people indicted for mortgage fraud with the pressure being applied by the government to explain the vast number of foreclosures. There have been more than 400 real estate related indictments since March of this year. The FBI has code named the investigation "Operation Malicious Mortgage" and resulted in 60 arrests today. The FBI has stated that the target state will be Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, and Michigan. These are also the states with some of the highest foreclosure rates.

Targets of Mortgage Fraud Indictments:
Mortgage Brokers
Real Estate Agents
Lenders
Straw Buyers
Appraisers
Attorneys

The real estate boom caused many people with no experience in real estate speculation to get in over their heads and lose everything. Even if no illegal activity occurred in the real estate transaction, a complaint and improper information can get you indicted. If you are even remotely concerned about an indictment you need to speak with a criminal defense lawyer that is experienced in defending mortgage fraud indictments. Practicing in Miami for many years and defending multi-count indictments for fraud totaling almost 1 billion in loss provides the experience needed to defend your case.

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In the latest super star criminal trial, R. Kelly, has been found not guilty. This is a very large upset for the prosecutors on this case. This was great work on behalf of the defense lawyers involved in the case. Mr. Kelly was charged with violation of child pornography laws. With no witness to come forward and testify that he had sex with a minor except a woman who was apparently part of threesome with Kelly, there was little the prosecutor could do with a rape charge. However, with the child pornography charge, it is typical that the victim does not testify. Many times the victim is not even in this country. The United States and several other countries keep a database of minors that are used in child pornography rings. This database allows them to determine the approximate age of the children in the video or photographs.

The criminal defense attorneys in this case were very smart in their theory of defense and their trial strategy. They were also very lucky in having a judge that allowed the case to go on for so many years. Most judges would not have allowed this case to be continued for over 2 years. There may be issues that I am unaware of, but a case pending for over 4 years is very rare.

The Feds may come knocking. Mr. Kelly should be very careful with his new freedom. He is still exposed to Federal child pornography laws. The United States Attorney can also prosecute him for possession and production of child pornography. The penalties in the federal system provide for much more severe sanctions than in the state systems. Good defenses to this are hard to find. Many times the possession of child pornographic material on a computer is enough to open up a client to substantial prison time. Detroit's United States Attorney office has a division dedicated to child pornography and travel to engage in illicit sexual acts with minors. This division has several sting operations on the internet and over the phone that are used to get defendant's to travel across state lines in order to have sex with minors and trade child pornography on the internet. As a criminal defense lawyer on these cases, the primary defenses are entrapment, lack of knowlege and no specific intent. Defending clients in South Carolina, Florida and Michigan in the past several years has provided some good results for our clients.

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A Kalamazoo man (Rodney Hixon) is under investigation for mortgage fraud. He apparently purchased 38 homes in a 22 month period. Local investigators are claiming that he may have committed mortgage fraud. Lenders are claiming that they have been left with 3.5 million in debts for the loans. If that is correct, under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Mr. Hixon is facing 57-71 months in prison on the mortgage fraud charge in Federal Court. The question that I have is why would anyone lend this gentleman all this money in such a short period of time. There is some serious injustice with this concept. Companies lend all this money hoping to make a wind fall on the loans and then when loans are not paid they call the FBI and cry fraud. These lending companies had an obligation to check the borrowers information and confirm all documentation that was provided. The exception to this is when the lending company is the victim of an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme. A good criminal defense lawyer will investigate the information and be able to determine if the mortgage fraud scheme was perpetrated on the lender or was lack of carrying on behalf of the lender.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) keeps records related to mortgage fraud and the following information is amount of fraud they say has increased since 2002.

2002- 5,623 Cases, with $293 million in losses.
2003- 6,936 Cases, with $225 million in losses.
2004- 17,127 Cases, with $429 million in losses.
2005- 21,994 Cases, with $1.0. billion in losses.
2006- 35,617 Cases, with $946 million in losses.

There are no statistics for 2007 as yet. The amount is surely going to be highest ever. There is also going to be a sharp increase in investigations. The FBI has assigned over 100 agents to mortgage fraud in the past several months.

The inner workings of a mortgage fraud scheme. In South Carolina, Florida and some areas of Georgia, the value of real estate doubeled, tripled and even quadrupled in some markets. Some of this rise in value was legitimate and others were mortgage fraud. The government alleges that many fraud schemes begin with a property owner obtaining a fraudulent appraisal which establishes an over inflated value for the property. The property owner then sells the property to a so called straw buyer (no legitimate). The fake buyer gets a loan from a lender for the over inflated price. The buyer gives the proceeds of the loan to the seller who in turn gives the buyer back money from the sale. At times the appraiser and a mortgage broker also get a cut back. This mortgage fraud scheme is truly against federal law and violates several other federal statutes. However, there is also a real risk that an innocent seller caught in a hot market will be indicted for completely legal conduct. The government only needs the buyer to point the finger at the seller and we now have a conspiracy to defraud a lender. As I have stated before, in our system you are guilty until proven innocent. The government will move forward on a federal indictment based on the statements of only one person. If you are accused of mortgage fraud you need to contact our office immediately. You must prepare to defend yourself and protect your assests from forfeiture proceedings. The Government may seek to forfeit any assests (especially real estate) on a mortgage fraud indictment. Appraiser fraud is not as common of an indicted crime. The apprasier is usually used as a witness against the mortgage broker and seller of the property. Mortgage broker fraud is a common indictment and is always accompanied by other counts for wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.

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There has been a tremendous amount of mortgage fraud indictments in the past year all across the country. Just as when corporate America was being investigated for accounting practices several years ago, now the investigation is related to real estate investments and the practices that are alleged to have caused the collapse in the real estate market. Federal mortgage fraud indictments are going to become a very common event over the next two years. Mortgage brokers, realtors, lenders, and borrowers will come under the eye of the federal government. Defense lawyers must be aware of the elements and the defenses available to a mortgage fraud indictment.

Deliberate Ignorance- this is the answer to the classic defense "I did not know this was illegal". Many times in a federal indictment for mortgage fraud, a defendant will say they were unaware that any of the events that were occurring were fraudulent. That is to say, I did not see anything wrong with the transaction. Many federal jurisdictions have a jury instruction that explains away any lack of knowledge. Your defense attorney must be ready to combat this jury instruction with facts that would lead any reasonable person to believe they were not acting with any illegal motive and or had no notice that an illegal activity was occurring. The exposure under a mortgage fraud indictment will be based on the amount of money that was alleged to have loaned based on the fraud.

South Carolina defense attorneys must be aware that South Carolina indictments will be increasing over the coming years. There is a tremendous amount of complaints coming into the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) about mortgage fraud in South Carolina.

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The DEA brought Monzer al-Kassar to New York to face federal arms smuggling charges. Mr. al-Kassar is charged with helping several governments and revolutionary groups with weapons purchases over the past several decades. The Drug Enforcement Administration took the lead on this case even though this is normally under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacoo and Firearms (ATF). This would lead one to assume that the DEA was concerned with Mr. al-Kassar's possible shipment of weapons to Columbia to supply the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). The United States Attorney has alleged that these illegal weapons sales would be used to kill American forces in Colombia. This is the growing example of the extreme power of the United States government. To arrest an individual who has never set foot on U.S. soil and who is not a U.S. Citizen and has not pledged to destroy the United States. The government has decided that any activity that could possibly be used against the United States or its law enforcement agencies is subject to a federal indictment and extradition from anywhere. Yet, a U.S. citizen arrested in a foreign country is at the mercy of that country and our government will tell the family that we must obey the laws of that country.

Criminal defense lawyers must be willing to fight for clients charged with firearms violations. Many times legitimate gun dealers are indicted because of procedural violations of the federal firearms laws. Improper stamping, improper documentation and simple clerical errors are interpreted as substantive law violations and prosecuted to the fulliest extent. The Port of Charleston is one of the largest Ports on the East Coast. The increased security since 9-11 has increased the number of investigations and federal indictments related to the Port of Charleston. Miami is also a very large Port with which several cases related to weapons and drugs are brought. If you are being investigated for firearms violations you need a firearms attorney (i.e. an attorney who knows the law and about weapons). We represent individuals and companies charged with firearms violations, including exporting and importing of guns and weapons.

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Myrtle Beach has begun to stop allowing the reduction of points for certain tickets. Speeding tickets which carry 4 points will continue to stay at 4 points. This policy was started in the past several months. The reduction of points on many moving violations in Myrtle Beach are now eliminiated. Previously, many individuals with tickets could go to court and speak with the city attorney or the officer to get a reduction on the points. That is now over and you will most likely need an attorney to handle the ticket if you are to have any hope of a reduction of points or no points. Our office is experienced in handling many types of traffic tickets in mytle beach.
Types of traffic tickets in Myrtle Beach:

Speeding Tickets
Reckless Driving
DUI
Disobeying a Traffic Control Device
Improper Turning
Open Container
Seat Belt Violations

Many of these violations can carry 0-6 points on your drivers license. With the change in the ability to lower the points, there will be a significant impact on your insurance if you are assessed the points. You will need a traffic ticket attorney in Myrtle Beach to help reduce or eliminate any points.

Continue reading "Mytle Beach Traffic Tickets" »

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FBI Agent Joe Gordwin was indicted in Arizona last week for wire fraud, making false statements and witness tampering. The agent was arrested inside the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Phoenix. Agent Gordwin was having an affair with the wife of a defendant in a robbery case. The relationship was hidden from his FBI supervisors for 3 years. This type of case is not uncommon for many of the governments law enforcement agencies. The agents get so involved in the case that they spend more time with suspects than they do with their own private life. I have defended law enforcement officers for various crimes and they are always treated more harshly than a regular defendant.
The press is reporting that Agent Gordwin is facing up to 285 years in prison. Although I do not know the specifics of the indictment, that number is extremely high for a non violent crime. The United States Attorney does not tolerate any violations of the law by federal agents, unless it is in the best interest of the government. This type of indictment usually occurs in major cities and not in areas like Myrtle Beach or Charleston. I have seen these indictments in New York and Miami several times. This could be attributable to the larger number of agents in these larger cities and the increased number of investigations. Defending an agent is very tricky. Luckily I have a former FBI agent as a key partner in defending police officers and federal agents.

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http://www.criminal-trial-lawyer.org/index.html Three individuals have been arrested for murder by the Myrtle Beach Police Department. The murder occurred during Bike Week and is said to have been related to a parking space dispute. A Coastal Carolina University student was killed in the incident. Myrtle Beach police have 911 calls that describe the incident. This type of murder is very uncommon for this area of the country. Fights and gun battles are not uncommon for the streets of Miami, but the streets of Myrtle Beach are usually safe from this type of conflict. The three defendants have not been indicted by the local solicitor on this case. There will most likely be an indictment in the coming weeks. The defendants could face the death penalty depending on what information investigators provide to the solicitor's office.
A first degree murder indictment will allow the solicitor's office to decide whether to seek the death penalty on one or all the defendants. Evidence of the murder will be centered eye witnesses and the 911 calls that were recorded. Having defended clients for murder in the past, I can assure you that time is of the essence in preparing a good defense. The primary defenses from the facts reported to date would be mistaken identity or self defense. Independent investigations are critical to either support or contradict the investigation of the police department. The solicitor's office will most likely try to get one of the defendants to testify against the others. This will increase the likelihood of a conviction. In the federal system this is called flipping a defendant. Federal cases are almost always based on "flipping or flips", whether they are witnesses or co-defendants.

Continue reading "Myrtle Beach Murder Arrests" »

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