Nine Indicted In Mortgage Fraud Scheme.
Nine people have been accused in a $25 million mortgage fraud scheme in which the value of more than 500 real estate properties in central Ohio was exaggerated to mortgage lenders and to prospective buyers, authorities said Wednesday.
The nine recruited inexperienced potential buyers, counting on their relative ignorance with real estate to hide the scheme, according to the indictment by the federal grand jury. The defendants are accused of using fraudulent documents to misrepresent the buyers’ credit to lending institutions and then obtaining mortgages secured by the inflated value of the properties.
Potential buyers were told they could buy property with no money down and that they wouldn’t be responsible for monthly payments or repairs, according to prosecutors.
