Two women have been banned from originating mortgages by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, according to MortgageDaily.com, a dominant online news source for the mortgage industry. The department said it revoked the broker’s license held by Diana Martin of Platinum Plus Financial Services in Atlanta because it had uncovered evidence that showed she had made numerous misrepresentations to lenders. Martin told MortgageDaily.com she wouldn’t comment.
The state also said it received a court order against Stone Mountain broker Sonya Brown requiring her “to cease and desist from brokering.” Brown is accused of brokering loans in violation of a prior cease and desist order.
A deputy commissioner told MortgageDaily.com he could not say if any criminal charges are being pursued against either broker because of ongoing investigations.
Rod Wolford II testified against his father during an Iowa criminal trial that ended with Rod Wolford Sr. facing up to 165 years in jail. The son, as well as other witnesses, told jurors that Wolford misled customers, investors and regulators in a scheme that collapsed in 2003, the prosecutor told MortgageDaily.com.
“They watched cable TV programs, were attending seminars and got to know big shots in the industry,” the prosecutor said. “At one time they were the largest contract home buyers in Iowa, Nebraska and parts of Minnesota.”
But in the end, more than 200 home buyers were victims of a scheme that exposes the downside of land contracts.
The Wolford Group, which declared bankruptcy in 2003, was also accused of securities theft and fraud by misleading 48 investors who invested about $3.3 million in promissory notes.
Lessons and technology from credit card fraud prevention at banks, which fraud-tracking provider BasePoint Analytics says has gone through four phases lasting 30 years, can be applied to mortgage lending. Mortgage bankers can reportedly shortcut the learning curve and immediately start preventing real estate finance fraud.
Read complete mortgage fraud news coverage, including archives back to 2001, at http://www.MortgageDaily.com/MortgageFraud.asp?spcode=pr.
