Cheddi Goberdhan acted as a closing attorney for straw buyers who ultimately walked away from overpriced mortgaged. Now he’ll be spending five years in jail, losing his law license and paying $4.7 million in restitution[1]. The scheme was complicated, sometimes involving multiple straw buyer transactions designed to drive up the value of the home so that a larger mortgage could be taken out on it. Goberdhan and the company arranging the straw purchases, GuyAmerican Funding Corp, kept most of the mortgage money, using a portion of it to pay off the straw buyers, who then walked away. They got most of their deals from distressed property owners eager to get out from under their mortgages.
In total, the mortgage fraud resulted in $23 million in losses. Six GuyAmerican employees have already pled guilty[2].
Thank you for reading the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter!
Your comments and questions are welcomed below.
[1] http://www.law360.com/topnews/articles/249761/ny-real-estate-atty-gets-5-years-for-23m-scheme
[2] http://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/news/stories/06/08/ny-guyanese-attorney-jailed-for-five-years-in-mortgage-case-2/
This is only the tip of the iceberg of real estate scams throughout the USA. The biggest is by far the MERS scandal. They should all be arrested and imprisoned asap to set an example and bring trust back to the honest USA real estate professionals. The OCC should immediately order that all unlawful foreclosures revert to the owners and make lenders responsible for all unlawful activity.