Missouri's housing market is being hammered by high foreclosure rates and big number of home short sales. On top of these, the state also had to deal with a lot of fraudulent activities involving mortgage brokers. The good news is that the state is getting better and better at catching the people who are involved in these fraudulent schemes.
Recently, seven more individuals were sentenced for conspiring to defraud mortgage lenders. Their actions reportedly affected Lees Summit foreclosure investing and are focused on upscale residences in Lee's Summit and Raymore. The conspiracy was allegedly worth around $12.6 million and involved 25 upscale homes.
With Missouri foreclosure homes for sale being some of the highest in the whole U.S., fraudulent activities by certain individuals and companies have become quite common in the state. The seven individuals allegedly chose upscale properties in Raymore and Lee's Summit as their targets.
The defendants were involved in selling and buying new real estate houses for sale from several subdivisions, including Eagle Glen and Belmont. They reportedly bought the upscale residences at inflated prices and obtained mortgage loans by feeding false information to lenders and keeping part of the proceeds. Shell companies were established by the defendants so that they can receive kickbacks.
The sentencing of the conspirators is good news for the state which has been suffering from huge number of home short sales and high foreclosure rates. The seven individuals who were sentenced were among the 18 who pleaded guilty to conspiring and involvement in a scheme aimed at defrauding mortgage lenders during the period June 2005-May 2007.
The seven people sentenced were Stefan Guerra, Jerome Shade Howard, Michael Conrad Smith, Gerald D. Williams and wife Judith, Cheryl Ann Romero and James F. Simpson. According to reports, the defendants were receiving kickbacks ranging between $60,000 and $125,000 per residence. Lenders who were victimized by the defendants allegedly sustained losses amounting to over $6 million.
The news that the fraudulent brokers have been sentenced is a positive development for the housing market of Missouri which has been hit hard by high foreclosure rates and thousands of home short sales. Authorities have stated that more people will be sentenced for similar actions in the coming weeks.
