Three Palm Beach Residents Sentenced For Mortgage Fraud

After pleading guilty to charges relating to participating in a mortgage fraud scheme totaling more than $6.5 million, three Palm Beach County residents have been sentenced. Lauren Jasky was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Ralph Michel was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Berry Louidort was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. According to R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation audited 24 subprime mortgage loans initiated by Boca Raton-based Compass Mortgage Service. The initial audit revealed that the loans included excessively large fees, ranging from $29,000 to $650,000, paid to Louidort and Michel. The fees were described as marketing and/or assignment fees but were in fact kickbacks to Louidort and Michel based on inflated sales prices. Jasky, who served as senior vice president of Compass Mortgage, originated the majority of the suspect loans.