Mortgage Fraud Indictment Unsealed

MOBILE, AL—A 14-count mortgage fraud indictment, returned by the February 2011 federal grand jury, was recently unsealed, United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown announced today. Joan C. Teeters and Jonathan Marc Nattier, residents of Foley, Alabama, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud and face a maximum sentence of 20 years as to that count. Teeters was charged in all 14 counts of the indictment. Nattier was also charged with bank fraud and a false loan application.

The indictment is the third round of indictments in a mortgage fraud investigation conducted by the Mobile Field Office of the FBI. In November of 2010, four defendants were charged in connection with the same investigation and will be tried in April. In January of 2011, three defendants were charged in connection with the same investigation and will also be tried in April. Teeters and Nattier will be tried in May.

The conspiracy count alleges that members of the conspiracy solicited straw buyers to submit offers to purchase real property located in Baldwin County, Alabama. The count also alleges that to secure funding for the purchase and refinancing of the properties, loan applications containing false information, misrepresentations, and omissions were submitted to lending institutions by members of the conspiracy to induce the lenders to make mortgage loans they otherwise would not have funded.

The case will be prosecuted by United States Attorney Deborah Griffin.