Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States
Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent
in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Paula
Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Miami Field
Office; and Linda Charity, Interim Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of
Financial Regulation, announced the sentencing of defendant Michelle
Austin-Wilks, 38, of Parkland, Florida, for her participation in two separate
mortgage fraud schemes in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
At this morning’s hearing, U.S. District
Judge James I. Cohn sentenced Austin-Wilks to 63 months in prison, to be
followed by five years of supervised release. Austin-Wilks was also ordered to
pay $6,269,547 in restitution to the victims of her fraud. Austin-Wilks
previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and four counts of wire fraud, in
violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, for her participation
in the mortgage fraud schemes.
Austin-Wilks participated in two schemes.
The first scheme was charged in U.S. v. Gaith Al Nahar et. al, Case No
11-60183-CR-COHN. In that case, from February to November 2007, Ghaith Al
Nahar, 40, a mortgage broker, formerly of Boynton Beach, identified residential
properties and paid individuals to act as straw buyers for the properties.
These straw buyers submitted false loan applications and supporting documents
containing false information to various mortgage lenders across the United
States. After the lenders approved the loans based on the false information
provided, defendant Austin-Wilks, then president and director of Direct Title
& Escrow Services Inc., prepared false HUD-1 Settlement Statements that
contained false information. For example, the forms falsely represented to the
lenders that the straw buyers were bringing their own money to closing.
Austin-Wilks also falsely represented to the lenders that she had disbursed the
loan proceeds in accordance with the lenders’ instructions. Instead,
Austin-Wilks made unauthorized disbursements from the loan proceeds to one of
her companies as “processing fees.” Based on these false statements and
documents, the mortgage lenders issued more than $9 million in loans.
Ghaith Al Nahar pled guilty and was
sentenced on January 27, 2012 to 63 months in prison and was ordered to pay
$1,863,109.30 in restitution. An employee at Al Nahar’s office, Romy Defay, 28
of West Palm Beach, also pled guilty and was sentenced on January 27, 2012 to
33 months in prison and was ordered to pay $441,747 in restitution. The straw
buyers, Jeffery Gilbert and Philip Jay Newman, pled guilty. Gilbert was
sentenced to three years of probation and was ordered to pay $441,747 in
restitution. Newman was sentenced to 21 months in prison and was ordered to pay
$662,051.42 in restitution.
In the second case, U.S. v. Michelle
Austin Wilks, Case No. 12-60054-CR-COHN, defendant Austin-Wilks and others,
through Direct Title & Escrow Services Inc., engaged in a scheme to enrich
themselves from June to October 2007 by fraudulently buying and selling
residential real estate property in Broward County through straw buyers. These
straw buyers obtained high value mortgages based on fraudulent mortgage loan
applications and closing statements that contained false information. After the
lenders approved the loans based on the loan applications, Austin-Wilks
prepared HUD-1 Settlement Statements that, among other things, falsely
represented to the lenders that the straw buyers were bringing their own money
to closing. Austin-Wilks also created and submitted duplicate HUD-1 Settlement
Statements for the same real estate transaction to the mortgage lenders,
reflecting different sales prices to the seller and to the lender. The lender’s
version reflected a significantly higher purchase price than the seller’s
version of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. After closing, the lenders wired a
total of approximately $3 million in mortgage loan proceeds into a bank account
controlled by Austin-Wilks.
Thereafter, Austin-Wilks made numerous
wire transfers, including transfers of $68,562 and $382,000, respectively, to a
mortgage broker and a straw buyer for their assistance in the mortgage fraud
scheme. The mortgage broker, Jinnie Mathurin, pled guilty to one count of wire
fraud and was sentenced on March 7, 2012 to one year and one day in prison, and
was ordered to pay $1,170,443.71 in restitution. The straw buyer, Guhier
Florvilus, also pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced on May
17, 2012, to 14 months in prison and was ordered to pay $1,421,233 in
restitution. In addition to these wire transactions, Austin-Wilks was also
convicted of two additional wire fraud transactions for two wires sent by
national mortgage lenders.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative
efforts of the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and Florida’s Office of Financial
Regulation. Mr. Ferrer noted the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service for
their substantial efforts in locating defendant Austin-Wilks in Jamaica and
returning her to United States. These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Randy Katz and Armando Rosquete.
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