According to an official from North Carolina’s Carteret County, former governor Mike Easley and his wife, Mary, have been named as one of the buyers of a property whose price was overstated in tax records. This worked out to a $137,000 discount on the home that was not recorded in the $550,000 purchases price.
 
A county tax supervisor stated that distorting the purchase price of one home can result in distorted appraisals for other homes in the area. The transaction factors into a larger mortgage fraud case in which more than 200 plaintiffs have stated that they were deceived into paying …read more

Once a prominent investor and fundraiser for the Democratic Party with ties to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Hassan Nemazee has now been accused of lying about his assets in order to secure a $74 million loan from Citibank. According to the federal complaint filed against him, Nemazee forged documents that tried to depict that he owned accounts with several million dollars worth of collateral.
 
Nemazee was a national finance chairman for Mrs. Clinton and has also maintained ties to a variety of prominent political figures by inviting them to his Park Avenue home. Now, though, he faces one charge of …read more

Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford was recently accused of fraud through the creation of an enormous Ponzi scheme and despite his best attempts, he will remain in jail until his Texas trial. Stanford attempted to appeal the ruling that would have him stay in jail, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has upheld a ruling that classifies Stanford as a flight risk.
 
Along with four executives of the now-defunct Stanford Financial Group, Stanford has been accused of collecting billions of dollars of investors’ money, paying off investors with the money collected from other victims, and then …read more

What to do if your identity is stolen.

The man responsible for the largest Ponzi scheme in American history has lost his Manhattan penthouse apartment to federal marshals. Bernard Madoff’s $7 million property, from which his wife was evicted without even being able to take any of her possessions, will be sold and the proceeds will go toward the victims of Madoff’s billion-dollar scheme.
According to reports, Mrs. Madoff begged marshals to allow her to take her fur coat, but in the end, all she could take with her was a straw bag and the clothes on her back. She maintains that she is innocent until proven guilty and …read more

As the times continue to be difficult for people across the country, most take the honest road and try to work their way to a comfortable living. Others, however, try to make the most of the situation by duping those desperate to put food on the table, as is the case with five Van Nuys companies that face severe punishment for duping $300 million out of unsuspecting victims.
These scam artists took advantage of the poor economic situation and offered things like credit repair, help in landing jobs, ways to start profitable businesses from home, and promises of securing government money …read more

Relief is on the way for the victims of Beazer Homes USA Inc.’s alleged mortgage fraud against those who had federally-insured mortgage loans for its homes. According to the Justice Department’s announcement today, Beazer will pay $53 million as part of the settlement, with $5 million going to the federal government and $48 million to victimized homeowners.
 
Atlanta-based Beazer made the settlement with North Carolina prosecutors so that it would not be held otherwise accountable for mortgage and accounting fraud, including the manipulation of company earnings. Prosecutors argued that Beazer made loans to buyers despite income requirements and then tried to …read more

Watch out for scams aimed at seniors.

It is the kind of news that investors all around the world dread: Allen Stanford, founder and chairman of the Stanford Group, an entity that took in billions of dollars worth of private investments, has been charged with fraud. His investors, including some outside of the United States, have started referring to him as a scam artist on the level of Bernie Madoff.
 
Stanford’s business had been in sharp decline since February, when regulators started accusing him of perpetrating massive fraud, but now that he has been indicted on fraud, conspiracy, and obstruction charges, Stanford faces significant legal punishment. Those who …read more

Oh, how the mighty have fallen: the man credited with building Countrywide Financial, the biggest name in mortgage lending, from the ground up has now been charged with insider trading and securities fraud. Angelo Mozilo, a 70-year-old son of Italian immigrants of little means, faces significant punishment if he is found guilty.
 
Mozilo – or “Tangelo” if you prefer, a nickname given to him because of an outrageous tan – may be the next casualty of the economic crisis. Countrywide Financial, which went from originating hundreds of billions of dollars worth of loans to borrowing $11.5 billion just to stay afloat, …read more