Jo’Mell Thomas pleaded guilty in District of Connecticut Court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud from his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter resulted from an investigation into a mortgage conspiracy led by Syed Babar in which participants obtained residential real estate loans, including loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, through the use of sham sales contracts, false loan applications and fraudulent property appraisals.
Thomas and other participants defrauded lenders by using straw buyers that the criminals recruited, including Alicia Martineau, Wilson Nicolas, and Lisa Depa. These straw buyers applied for numerous residential real estate loans using false information that Babar and others had generated.
The district attorney said the false information included facts about the straw buyer’s employment, income, assets and liabilities. Thomas was paid a fee after a closing on a house where one of the individuals recruited by Thomas had served as the straw buyer.
On behalf of Babar, Thomas agreed to open a bank account for a fictitious construction company called “Sheda Telle Construction LLC” in March 2007. The purpose of this company, which Babar said means “ring the bell and run,” along with the bank account, was to divert fraud proceeds to it and to falsely justify the inflated sales price of houses based on renovations allegedly made to the property.
According to the district attorney’s office, almost all the money deposited into the account was derived from loan proceeds generated by real estate closings conducted as part of the underlying mortgage fraud scheme.
In many instances, the money was withdrawn as cash soon after it was deposited as a result of a real estate closing.
Between March 2007 and October 2009, approximately $978,000 was deposited into the account of the fictitious construction company, and the same amount was withdrawn from the account. The money was distributed among the co-conspirators at Babar’s direction.
Thomas faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000. He is scheduled for sentencing on June 29.
Babar pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges related to his leadership of this mortgage scheme, which has caused losses in excess of $3.2 million to lenders, on Feb. 1.
The straw buyers also pleaded guilty to charges resulting from this scheme and await sentencing.
The Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force, developed in 2009 to investigate and prosecute state mortgage fraud cases and related financial crimes, continues to examine Babar’s fraud scheme. Representatives that are part of the force include the FBI, HUD, IRS, U.S. attorney’s office, Office of the Inspector General, FDIC, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and State of Connecticut Department of Banking.
