White Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer BlogThree more indicted in a South Florida Federal Court for mortgage fraud scheme
Three additional individuals were charged in West Palm Beach Federal court in a federal mortgage fraud indictment, making 24 the total number of persons who have been indicted in the multi-million dollar Versailles mortgage fraud scheme. Carl Alexander and Carol Asbury were the two most recent persons indicted. Alexander headed up a firm known as PTL Housing & Investments which purchased homes in the upscale Wellington community called Versailles. The indictment charges a violation of the mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. §1341, a statute commonly used in white collar criminal cases.
Alexander, one of the most prominent players of the defendants, had two personal bankruptcies and a foreclosure filing when his company secured a $1.05 million home in Versailles. According to the federal criminal indictment, Alexander was in charge of recruiting buyers, usually people of modest means to serve as straw or bogus buyers who were paid anywhere from $700 to $15,000 to purchase a home to have homes purchased in their own names.
Fraudulent closing documents were prepared by a real estate broker David Lam and Asbury concealed the fact that lenders were loaning more money than the actual price of the home. The three defendants pocketed the difference between the loan and home price, an amount estimated at almost $1.8 million on the sale of four homes. Six others have been charged in recent weeks in connection with the Versailles mortgage fraud, including former pro football and University of Florida player Patrick Brinson.
Defending persons accused of federal fraud charges requires a criminal defense lawyer with years of experience aggressively defend the rights of individuals in federal courts. Everyone is entitled to the right of counsel and it is important to for persons charged in federal court to have an attorney who knows how to defend against serious fraud charges. The Swartz Law Firm represents person charged in a vast array of criminal cases in federal and state court.