Ralph Recorale, a New York licensed attorney, Thomas Debonis Leonard, Sudler, Richard Sudler, Marco Ramos, mortgage brokers, and Sophia Welsh and Yves Mathieu, recruited straw buyers, were charged for operating a $2 million mortgage fraud and identity theft ring.
Mortgage Fraud Plan
In 2005, the defendants purchased a vacant building in Brooklyn, New York through a straw buyer using purported information. However in 2006, the defendants sold the building to a different straw buyer for the full sale price.
By 2007, the defendants stopped paying for the mortgages and arranged for the building to be foreclosed. On February 2008, the defendants yet again sold the property to another straw buyer who obtained a $675,000 mortgage using a stolen identity.
In 2009, the defendants were negotiating with the banks to scheme another fraudulent sale until the identity theft victim contacted the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Action Center, to notify them of their situation.
The seven defendants now face a maximum penalty of 15 years of imprisonment if convicted of charges of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree.
