Rockland County Man Sentenced For His Role In Mortgage Fraud Scheme

 

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Daniel Badu, 56, of New City, NY, who was convicted of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud affecting a financial institution, was sentenced to time served and 10 months home detention by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth R. Moellering, who handled the case, stated that between 2008 and 2009, the defendant conspired with others to defraud The Funding Source (“TFS”), a mortgage bank, and other financial institutions by submitting fraudulent applications for home loans.  After being originated by TFS, the loans were sold to other financial institutions, including M&T Bank and JPMorgan Chase.

The co-conspirators in this case submitted fraudulent applications for loans on eight properties in Bronx, NY. They fraudulently obtained mortgages that were insured by FHA on behalf of unqualified borrowers, such as the defendant. Badu was the purchaser on two of the properties and he aided in the submission of false documentation as part of the loan application, including documents purporting to show income from a fake job. The defendant also backstopped false employment for another loan, pretending that the borrower worked for his ophthalmology company, Eagle Eyes, which in reality was a shell company that performed no business.

The total loan amount for these eight transactions was $4,800,007.

In total, six defendants have pleaded guilty for their roles in this fraud. Attorney Laurence Savedoff, Esq. pleaded guilty to a misprision of a felony and was sentenced to four months in prison. Realtor and appraiser Julio Rodriguez pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and a conspiracy to do the same, and was sentenced to six months in prison. Sentencing hearings are pending for mortgage broker Gregory Gibbons, and realtors Tina Brown and Alagi Samba.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service under the direction of Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector-in-Charge, Boston Division; the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Brad Geary; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.  Additionally, the New York State Department of Financial Services assisted with the investigation.