Filed under: News, Foreclosures
The housing boom and bust brought forth many accounts of mortgage fraud - but it's only recently that the absurdity of some schemes is coming to light.
A 35 year-old Maryland man, Bryan Gardner, has been charged with successfully paying his $353,000 Citibank mortgage with a false money order backed from then Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr. in 2009, Fox News reports. Law enforcement and fraud experts alike are stunned that the scam worked for Gardner who signed the order simply as Paulson's "Authorized Representative."
After fraudulently purchasing the Bowie, Maryland home with the money order, Gardner reportedly sold it for $254,900 within a matter of months before he "distributed the proceeds to others," according to the Secret Service affadavit. Perhaps more absurd than the ruse itself, is that it was Gardner's second time attempting it. He found success on his second try by slightly raising the amount of the money order, court documents say.
Read the full story at The Huffington Post.
See also:
- Google Blamed for Mortgage Fraud
- Mortgage Fraud Hits New High
- Foreclosure Fraud Could Cost You Your Home
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Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/08/18/mortgage-fraud-scheme-targets-treasury-secretary/
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