Thursday, September 06, 2012

Federal Prosecutors Charge Atlanta Woman with Mortgage Fraud



BIRMINGHAM—Federal prosecutors on Friday charged an Atlanta woman with mortgage fraud for providing false financial information for several home buyers that resulted in fraudulently obtained mortgages totaling more than $623,000, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance; FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Haley, III; and Housing and Urban Development Inspector General David Montoya announced.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an information in U.S. District Court charging Melneka Parker, 27, with three counts of aiding and abetting others in the making of false statements on mortgage loan applications.

Parker assisted in the commission of a larger mortgage fraud ring among several buyers, including Gloria Allen and Crystal Douglas, both of Huntsville, who were charged by information in July. Beginning in 2008, Parker owned and operated Elite Business Services in Huntsville, with the stated purpose of helping its clients improve their credit scores, according to the information.

The charges filed against Parker outline the fraud as follows:

After forming Elite Business Services, Parker began assisting her clients in obtaining mortgages to buy real estate in the Huntsville area. Because many of her clients were not financially eligible to obtain loans, Parker would submit false payroll and income information to the financial institution. The false payroll information inflated the monthly income that each borrower claimed to earn, making them eligible for a mortgage that they would otherwise have been unable to obtain. Parker also sent the false income information to another tax preparation business, which resulted in the creation of false tax documents. All of those documents were submitted to support the false income claims made by the borrower and Parker. As a result of her fraudulent activities, financial institutions approved $623,357 in mortgages that they would not otherwise have approved.

If convicted, Parker could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each count.

The FBI and HUD-Office of the Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney is prosecuting the case.

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