York County Mortgage Fraud
Paul Lindemann is being sentenced for a federal felony: conspiracy to commit application fraud. Three legal experts think Lindemann will be sentenced to a prison term of anywhere from several months to over two years. Lindemann was claiming he was earning almost $36,000 a month so he could get a loan of close to one million dollars. The loan was for a house in Tega Cay and Lindemann had plans to flip the house in exchange for a lot of money.
There is no proof that Lindemann misused any public money. In fact, the crime happened while he was working as a county councilman and his duties included overseeing a public budget of millions of dollars. Reportedly, he spoke very often about fiscal responsibility, about not spending money people don't have. In this case, Lindemann wanted to use the bank's money (someone else's money) to make a profit from the sale of the house. When he was caught, he pleaded poverty and got the tax payers to pay his legal fees because he was represented by a public defender.
Also in York county, a woman has been convicted of defrauding 14 mortgage lenders and 34 homeowners in Cumberland, Dauphin, York, and Adams Counties out of more than $6.2 million between 2006 and 2008. Joanne Seeley was found guilty after a 6-day trial on 4 counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering. Seeley was a real estate agent in Pennsylvania until 2006. In 2007, she became the primary owner and operator of a business called S&D Property Solutions. Testimony during the trial showed that Seeley devised and implemented a "foreclosure rescue/equity skim scheme" that fraudulently lead 14 mortgage lenders into lending over $6.2 million in loans between 2006 and 2008.
Here is how her scheme worked: Seeley would find a home scheduled for sheriff's sale and tell the homeowner he/she could avoid foreclosure by selling the home to her or one of her investor/buyers, who would then lease the property back to the homeowner after it's sold. Seeley assured the homeowner the sale would allow them to pay off their debts, help them rebuild their credit rating, and allow them to qualify for a new mortgage when they re-purchase the home in one year. Seeley also promised the homeowners that any equity they had in the house would be held in escrow by the buyer after the sale and be used as the seller's down payment. Seeley recruited several investors/buyers and lead them into participating in her program by telling them they would be reimbursed for all expenses, including their down payment plus an $8,000 "fee" for the transaction after the closing. Seeley also told the buyers they would receive monthly rent payments from homeowners that would cover most, maybe all, of their mortgage payments.
Seeley also submitted redacted sales contracts to the lenders that concealed the fact the buyer and seller had entered into buy-back agreements and the buyer's down payment was refunded to the buyer from the loan proceeds.
The trial revealed that Seeley used a large chunk of the $6.2 million in loans, approximately $2.3 million, for personal use. Seeley would charge the distressed homeowner an extremely high commission, close to 50%, equal to the homeowner's equity in the property. Later, Seeley would simply have the homeowners sign over their entire sales proceeds checks to S&D Property Solutions. Contrary to what the homeowners were promised, no funds were ever escrowed on their behalf. Instead, Seeley spent the money on her personal expenses and no homeowner was ever able to buy their home back.
If you or someone you know has been charged with mortgage fraud, you will need to speak with an experienced mortgage fraud lawyer in your area. The Mace Firm's mortgage fraud attorney in Myrtle Beach is ready to speak with you about your case. Call today to schedule your free consultation with a Myrtle Beach fraud lawyer.
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