Brent Kaufman Admits To $4.7M Mortgage-Fraud Scheme
An unlicensed mortgage broker on Long Island has admitted to
his role in a multi-million dollar Ponzi-like scheme to defraud his clients,
federal officials announced.
Commack resident Brent Kaufman, age 50, pleaded guilty to stealing
$4.7 million in mortgage refinancing proceeds that were meant to pay off the
existing mortgages of his clients.
Acting US Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said Kaufman worked as
an unlicensed mortgage broker and assisted clients in Queens and Long Island
with refinancing their mortgages.
At the closing for a mortgage refinancing, the money from
the new mortgage is supposed to be wired to the financial institution that
holds the existing mortgage so that it can be paid off, she noted.
Between 2016 and 2019, Kaufman, together with others,
engaged in a scheme to defraud Home Point Financial Corporation, LoanDepot,
United Wholesale Mortgage, and other mortgage lenders by obtaining, and
attempting to obtain, funding by making false representations of his dealings.
Specifically, Kaufman provided false wire routing
information to the lenders for the existing mortgages.
Instead of wiring the funds to the correct financial
institutions, the funds were instead transferred to bank accounts controlled by
Kaufman. As a result, the existing mortgages were not paid off—leaving clients
with two mortgages on their homes—and Kaufman stole the funds for his own
personal use.
In total, Kaufman stole more than $4.7 million, some of
which he used to make mortgage payments on the existing mortgages or to
eventually pay off those mortgages to avoid detection of his scheme.
“With today’s guilty plea, Kaufman admits to stealing
millions of dollars in a brazen mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded numerous
lenders and left his homeowner-clients in danger of losing their homes to
foreclosure,” Kasulis stated.
“This office is committed to prosecuting defendants like
Kaufman who are driven by greed to abuse the trust of innocent homeowners”
When he is sentenced, Kaufman faces up to 30 years in prison
and a forfeiture of up to $1 million.
“Not only did Kaufman steal his
victims’ money, but he also violated their trust, leaving them financially
vulnerable and at risk of significant financial complications,” FBI Assistant
Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll stated.
“Collectively, his victims suffered millions of dollars in
losses. Today’s guilty plea reminds us of the threat posed by those who
prioritize their own financial interests above all else.”
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