A real estate agent from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been indicted for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme where he obtained more than $50 million in loans from several banks and lenders.
The indictment alleges that the defendant, Edul Ahmad, along with co-conspirators, obtained funds from Bank of New York, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Countrywide Financial, Flushing Savings Bank, Fremont Investment and Loan, HSBC Bank USA, IndyMac Bank, One West Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo & Co. Wholesale mortgage lenders New Century Mortgage Corp. and Ocwen Financial Corp. also were supposedly conned in this fraudulent scheme, the indictment said.
According to the indictment, from 1995 to 2009, the defendant served as licensed state real estate agent and also acted as a loan officer. To operate the scheme, the defendant allegedly submitted false loan applications and supporting documents to the banks and lenders to make borrowers appear to have better credit than they really had in order to receive the loan.
During the closings, the defendant also prepared and submitted documents that misrepresented if the borrowers made any payments to the sellers.
The purpose of these fraudulent documents was for the defendant to profit from real estate commissions and loan fees generated from his transactions. Ahmad allegedly also understated the amount he earned by submitting the fraudulent documents to the financial institutions and lenders, therefore preventing these businesses from discovering that his fees were greater than those permitted by the institutions.
Due to this fraudulent scheme, many of the homes have been foreclosed because the borrowers could not afford to make their mortgage payments.
“Mortgage loans allow millions of Americans to turn the dream of home ownership into reality,” said Loretta Lynch, an attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “The system must be based on the accuracy of its information and the integrity of its members. The defendant allegedly brought neither to the table, abusing the trust of the financial institutions who relied upon him.”
Ahmad has been charged with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud as well as 10 counts of bank fraud. If convicted, the defendant faces a 30-year prison term and forfeiture of the proceeds benefited from this mortgage fraud scheme.
