Bethesda Woman Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Kara McIntosh of Bethesda, Md., to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for mail fraud in connection with a $19 million mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in the District of Columbia. Judge Motz also ordered McIntosh to pay $3.4 million in restitution. According to Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, McIntosh admitted in her plea agreement that she and others recruited straw buyers to purchase houses. McIntosh knew the straw purchasers were not planning to live in the properties and could not qualify for mortgages. McIntosh then prepared fraudulent mortgage applications that misrepresented the buyers' income and assets. The scheme involved fraudulent loans worth more than $19 million, investigators said. Many of the purchased properties have been foreclosed upon. Two co-conspirators, Sabrina Weinberg and Osman Sharrieff Al-Bari, have been sentenced to two years and 78 months in prison, respectively. Three other co-conspirators, Timothy Reed, Jamilah Al-Bari and Terrence White, have all pleaded guilty to mail fraud in connection with their participation in this scheme and are scheduled to be sentenced in the next two months.