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More arrests possible in property fraud case
By Jim Carney
and Katie Byard
Beacon Journal staff writers
Published on Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008
A 106-count indictment charging 19 individuals with mortgage fraud that involved the theft of more than $1 million and 16 property transactions might only be the tip of the iceberg, state and local officials said.
Officials said they are also scrutinizing 200 other property sales on top of the 16 announced Monday.
The indictment concerns allegations that fraudulent information was used on loan documents used to get mortgages on 16 Akron-area houses, authorities said.
Almost all of the purchasers were ''straw buyers'' who were ''in on the crimes'' and had no intention of paying off the loans, said Keith Thornton, chief of investigations for the Summit County Sheriff's Office, shortly before a news conference Monday afternoon.
Authorities said 19 defendants — including some operating under three business names — are named in the indictment, which was handed down last week.
Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander said the fraud included inflating the value of properties and using fraudulent income information to obtain loans.
Some or all of the defendants ''would basically just split up the money,''Alexander said, and many of the 16 houses would then go into foreclosure.
The indictment covers more than 200 felony charges, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, money laundering, forgery, falsification, theft and receiving stolen property.
Those named in the indictment include Garrick Feaster, Sarina Elmore, Naketia Johnson, Donte Gibson, Monte Pitts, Crystal Tyler, Anthony Ramsey, Karmen Beckett, Lizrae Benford, Michael Dowdell, Edwin Cain, Richard Turner and Alfred Jones, all of the Akron area.
Also named were Adam J. DeStefanis and Brian DeStefanis, of Medina County; Steve Sikorski, of Cuyahoga County; Angie Rodgers and Shanika Jordan of the Youngstown area; and Richard Putnam of Stark County.
Officials said the names of the businesses involved included First Priority Realty LLC, Best of the Best Homes, and Montena Properties.
The indictment grew out of a three-year investigation by the Summit County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, authorities said.
Thornton said the indictment is separate from the ongoing Evergreen mortgage fraud case, now in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan was charged Dec. 19, along with others, in a 147-count indictment alleging widespread Akron-area securities and mortgage fraud.
Willan goes on trial in November.
Paul Scarsella, supervisor of special prosecutions for the Ohio attorney general, said there are at least 200 other properties that are being looked at by officials primarily in the Akron and Summit County area.
''The victims in these cases are the neighborhoods,'' Scarsella said.
''We are now left with an inordinate number of homes that are vacant, that have been foreclosed upon,'' Scarsella said. ''This has put a real burden on the tax base of both the city and the county.''
Scarsella said there was ''a pattern of falsification of mortgage application information from income levels to the value of the homes to how many other homes were owned by the individuals.''
Those indicted range from the buyers and sellers of the homes, to the mortgage brokers involved in the transactions as well as others who profited through third party payout at the closing of the loans, Scarsella said.
The scheme involved the use of a house that was valued far below its eventual sales price, Scarsella said.
''At the closing, the title company would issue checks to many different individuals based upon the instructions from the sellers of the house,'' Scarsella said.
''There would be payouts to third party companies for home improvements that were never done on the properties. All of this money,'' he said, ''was laundered back and forth that we've been able to trace to the buyers, to the sellers, with little or no intention of ever repaying the mortgage or actually living in the home.''
He said the deals involved in the indictments occurred between 2004 and 2006.
''It was this scheme to defraud over a period of time with respect to these 16 properties that has had a dramatic impact on these neighborhoods,'' Scarsella said.
Officials did not identify the properties involved.
''It is this type of investigation we want to bring forward so we can begin to address at least part of the problems associated with the mortgage crisis in Ohio,'' Scarsella said.
Along with the attorney general's office, other agencies involved in the probe were Akron police, the Summit County sheriff, county prosecutor's office, county fiscal office, the Summit County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, the Ohio attorney general, the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission and Cuyahoga Falls police.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com. Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.
A 106-count indictment charging 19 individuals with mortgage fraud that involved the theft of more than $1 million and 16 property transactions might only be the tip of the iceberg, state and local officials said.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Wadsworth, OH
Posted 06:25 AM, 09/09/2008
Thanks ABJ for running the train off the tracks. You said you created this new system to stop vulgar and off-topic comments, and look at what is being posted here.
Akron, OH
Posted 07:35 AM, 09/09/2008
So when is the city hall hero goin' to be indicted for his realestate schemes???
Posted 07:39 AM, 09/09/2008
Good job, censors! Stop the discussions!
Akron, , OH
Posted 08:42 AM, 09/09/2008
this new post is for the birds !
Posted 09:40 AM, 09/09/2008
I agree! Maybe they are tired of everybody calling Dyer a moron?
Posted 10:21 AM, 09/09/2008
Freedom of The Press to suppress individual Freedom of Speech? Wow.
Posted 11:14 AM, 09/09/2008
Thanks for trying to improve the quality of the conversation. Also, it's about time fraud in the housing market was identified and prosecuted.
Akron, oh
Posted 11:40 AM, 09/09/2008
Nice to see some of Akron's finest gang members on that list....Garrick Feaster (Tyree's brother) and Mike Dowdell. Trying out that white collar crime for a change.
AKRON, OH
Posted 12:07 PM, 09/09/2008
SOME REALLY INTERESTING NAMES ON THIS INDICTMENT
Posted 01:44 PM, 09/09/2008
Be careful what you say about Akron's finest gang members! I'll call the censors! Please, political correct comments only!
Posted 01:45 PM, 09/09/2008
This new forum SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Akron, Oh
Posted 03:11 PM, 09/09/2008
LOL..you people need to stop complaining about the new forum and post about the articles. I did noticed some famaliar sounding names in this article. Maybe, hopefully the police have them this time and they will go to jail.
Wadsworth, OH
Posted 08:04 PM, 09/09/2008
No Drew, I think I will just stop posting. There is no discussion going on. Just a bunch of disjointed comments.
Posted 09:03 PM, 09/09/2008
Drew is correct...no discussions with the new format. Granted, some of the frequent posters of yore got nasty (and boring), but many posters gave the readers more info than the actual BJ article.
Posted 09:04 PM, 09/09/2008
Gosh...can't read tonight! Meant to say Eric was correct!
