Queens DA: Fraud Scheme Preyed on Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
Chris Herring from the Wall Street Journal reports on a foreclosure fraud scheme that was cracked in NY City. While the scheme took advantage of people in common ways (read the article), one part of it really stuck out. The thieves were targeting properties that had legitimate equity in them but were also in preforeclosure. If you are reading this you need to understand that some houses can solve their own problems. In this case, houses with equity that are in pre foreclosure can typically be sold and settle the existing debt (obviously it depends on how much equity, how much debt but we will assume that the equity will more than cover the debt). So, if you are in a situation where the property can be sold and cover the debt without putting the property through a short sale….do the right thing.
Queens DA: Fraud Scheme Preyed on Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
By Chris Herring
A group of 17 people was charged in a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud Thursday, a scam prosecutors say left some victims homeless. The list of those charged includes attorneys, mortgage brokers and real estate advisors.
The charges, brought forth by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, accuse two men of having led a predatory scheme to take advantage of homeowners in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx who were trying to avoid going into foreclosure. Brown said the fraud cheated victims and various lending institutions out of more than $3 million of equity at 26 residential properties.
Prosecutors accused those in the scheme of targeting homeowners who had substantial equity in their homes but either faced foreclosure or were behind in mortgage payments.
Roger Huggins and Inderpaul Sookraj, who prosecutors pinpointed as the scheme’s ringleaders, are accused of setting up sham realty and construction companies in Queens. They face an array of first- and second-degree felony charges — including accusations larceny, money-laundering, identity-theft and falsified-records — and a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted.
Among other things, prosecutors said Huggins and Hookraj basically stole peoples’ homes through trickery. The pair was charged with using false documents and forging their clients’ personal information to make it look like the homeowners had agreed to sell their homes over to Huggins and Hookraj.
In other cases, prosecutors said, they simply induced distressed homeowners into selling or transferring their properties for reduced prices — a move that allowed them to “flip” the properties and sell them for more.
Attorney information for Huggins and several other people charged wasn’t immediately available, as arraignments hadn’t begun as of early yesterday evening. The arraignments were expected to take start and run into night court. Prosecutors said Sookraj remained at large.
A pair of attorneys from Queens, Trevor Rupnerain and Shawn Chand, were also accused in the fraud. Prosecutors charged them with fraudulently preparing financial and real-estate documents when closing out deals with victims.