kent nickell
Well-known member
The banks accepting these mortgages were probably also turning a blind eye and not doing good due diligence.... They were often quick to securitize them and pass them on to others who would have even less knowledge of these origination problems....
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/l...e-scam-caught-in-Turkey-8393440-64453847.html
N.Va. woman accused of $50M mortgage scam caught in Turkey
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
October 16, 2009
A Loudoun County woman accused of running a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme was caught in Turkey, having fled the United States in July after she was indicted by a grand jury, authorities said Thursday.
Diane Atari is accused of inflating clients' credit scores by falsifying their incomes and other financial records, causing her clients to go into foreclosure, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said. She's charged with making false statements to obtain credit and money laundering.
Officials said they notified Interpol when Atari left the U.S. in July, and the international police agency tracked her down in Turkey. Atari is being held in a Turkish prison awaiting extradition to the U.S.
According to the indictment, Atari made more than $1 million in profit from the scheme that left banks holding more than $50 million in foreclosed properties.
Atari owned and operated ACR Consulting Co. and Atari Management Co., both based in Loudoun, authorities said. Through those companies she offered rent-to-own services. Her customers wanted to purchase homes, but their credit was not good enough, or their income too low, to qualify for a mortgage.
Atari, the indictment said, allegedly signed agreements with customers saying her consulting company would help fix their credit for a fee. She then added her clients to credit cards held by associates with good credit, which helped increase their credit scores.
When a client balked at high monthly mortgage payments, authorities say Atari would offer to subsidize the payments until the client could refinance for a lower mortgage rate and afford the payments.
Atari made a commission when the property was sold and received additional payments for brokerage services, court documents said.
In the end, most of the homes were unaffordable to Atari's clients, and they lost them to foreclosure when the subsidies didn't come through, the Sheriff's Office said.
fklopott@washingtonexaminer.com
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/l...e-scam-caught-in-Turkey-8393440-64453847.html
N.Va. woman accused of $50M mortgage scam caught in Turkey
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
October 16, 2009
A Loudoun County woman accused of running a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme was caught in Turkey, having fled the United States in July after she was indicted by a grand jury, authorities said Thursday.
Diane Atari is accused of inflating clients' credit scores by falsifying their incomes and other financial records, causing her clients to go into foreclosure, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said. She's charged with making false statements to obtain credit and money laundering.
Officials said they notified Interpol when Atari left the U.S. in July, and the international police agency tracked her down in Turkey. Atari is being held in a Turkish prison awaiting extradition to the U.S.
According to the indictment, Atari made more than $1 million in profit from the scheme that left banks holding more than $50 million in foreclosed properties.
Atari owned and operated ACR Consulting Co. and Atari Management Co., both based in Loudoun, authorities said. Through those companies she offered rent-to-own services. Her customers wanted to purchase homes, but their credit was not good enough, or their income too low, to qualify for a mortgage.
Atari, the indictment said, allegedly signed agreements with customers saying her consulting company would help fix their credit for a fee. She then added her clients to credit cards held by associates with good credit, which helped increase their credit scores.
When a client balked at high monthly mortgage payments, authorities say Atari would offer to subsidize the payments until the client could refinance for a lower mortgage rate and afford the payments.
Atari made a commission when the property was sold and received additional payments for brokerage services, court documents said.
In the end, most of the homes were unaffordable to Atari's clients, and they lost them to foreclosure when the subsidies didn't come through, the Sheriff's Office said.
fklopott@washingtonexaminer.com