Beltsville Leader in Mortgage Fraud Scheme Sentenced to Over Four Years in Prison

Paid Over 15 Straw Purchasers and Used False Documents to Buy 25 Properties; Received Over $3.8 Million in Fraud Proceeds

BALTIMORE, MD—U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Timothy Reed, age 45, of Beltsville, Maryland, today to 51 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for mail fraud arising from the fraudulent purchase of 25 properties in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia using false mortgage and settlement documents. Judge Motz also ordered that Reed pay $4,196,967 in restitution.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel S. Cortez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy and his Economic Crimes Unit; and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Irvine of the United States Secret Service - Washington Field Office.

According to Reed’s plea agreement, Reed and others paid over 15 straw purchasers $10,000 per property to purchase houses for Reed and others. Reed created false mortgage and settlement documents, many of which misrepresented the straw purchasers’ income and assets. Reed and others also created false invoices to claim that their company, Brotherly Investment Group, performed “renovations” on some of the properties. Using these false invoices, Reed and others were “repaid” at closing for the purported renovations. Reed was an organizer and leader in this scheme.

From 2006 to 2008, Reed and others received approximately $3,830,418 in fraudulent funds as part of this scheme. Many of the purchased properties have been foreclosed upon.

The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate mortgage fraud and promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and promote the integrity of the credit markets. Information about mortgage fraud prosecutions is available http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/Mortgage-Fraud/index.html.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Kwame J. Manley, who prosecuted the case.