In the following press release Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. and Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington announce indictments and arrests in an elaborate mortgage scheme involving twelve defendants. The prominent West End Atlanta area was the primary target. The defendants, as outlined below, are charged with RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) conspiracy and multiple counts of residential mortgage fraud.

According to investigators, the defendants worked together in various roles as buyers, sellers, mortgage brokers and appraisers often giving false information on loan documents and appraisal reports. Authorities say Michael Dunlap and Ekue Satchivi were the primary ring leaders with Dunlap serving as the seller in most cases and Satchivi facilitating “straw” buyers. Typically, the transactions would unfold in the following manner: A seller would purchase a home in the $100K range and then obtain an inflated appraisal around $250-$300K. The facilitator would then find a willing “straw” buyer to close the deal. Afterwards, the group split the proceeds and moved on to the next purchase. The homes would subsequently fall into foreclosure. The twelve defendants are accused of conspiring in fraudulent deals involving nine properties—- 7 of them in the 30310 zip code—-better known as the West End.

Five of the defendants were arrested on Thursday, September 11 in a joint operation involving The Atlanta Police Department and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Investigations Unit. Authorities have confiscated homes, cars and other assets and have also frozen the defendants’ bank accounts. The seizures to date total an estimated 200-thousand dollars. With cooperation from lenders, District Attorney Howard hopes to auction the property and use the proceeds to fund an expanded mortgage fraud unit. Mr. Howard says this is the first step towards reclaiming a zip code. “We hope these arrests send a strong message that this type of fraudulent and predatory activity will not be tolerated in Fulton County. This is the first of many efforts to help restore confidence and stabilize home values in the West End Community and to make it a desirable area once more to buy and invest legitimately.”

This case was investigated by Investigator Robert McFall of the Atlanta Police Department’s Major Fraud Unit. It is being prosecuted by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Mortgage Fraud Unit lead by Assistant District Attorney Patricia Hooks. The City of Atlanta Police Department and Fugitive Unit along with the Investigative Unit of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office participated in the arrests.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Indictment Counts:

Indictment #1 – 1 count of RICO Conspiracy
18 counts of Residential Mortgage Fraud

Indictment #2 – 1 count of RICO Conspiracy 
18 counts of Residential Mortgage Fraud

Defendants: (Indictment Number in Parenthesis)

1. Michael Dunlap (1) arrested
2. Ekue Satchivi a/k/a Francesco E. Satchivi a/k/a Francesco E. Satchni (1 & 2)
3. Grady Bland (1& 2) arrested
4. Jephthah Jenkins (1) arrested
5. Nikoi Kotey a/k/a Jonathan Nikoi Kotey (1)
6. W. Leo Payne (1)
7. Anthony Riley a/k/a Aloysius Anthony Peter (1 & 2)
8. Charles Neequaye (1)
9. Paul Agbeblewu (1)
10. Frederick Fisher a/k/a Rahim Kariem (2)
11. Franklin Polite (2) arrested
12. Brian Stokelin (2) arrested

Atlanta Properties: (7 in 30310 zip code- West End)

1 . 320 Mathewson Place – 30310
2. 1659; Rogers Avenue – 30310
3. 1322 Lorenzo Drive – 30310
4. 814 Azalia Street – 30310
5. 1120 Oglethorpe Avenue, S.W. – 30310
6. 1398 Beecher Street – 30310
7. 1429 Allegheny Street – 30310
8. 134 Chappell Road – 30314
9. 1107 Kirkwood Avenue– 30316

Resources:
Fox 5 Atlanta Video News Report

Update on Monday, October 13, 2008 at 9:32AM by The Editor - Ian Shuter - ACFE, DMS

 

In the following press release Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announced the arrest of 42-year old Ekue Satchivi. Satchivi, also known by several other similar aliases, is one of 12 people recently indicted for involvement in an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme targeting the prominent West End Atlanta area. The defendants, as outlined below, are charged with RICO conspiracy (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) and multiple counts of residential mortgage fraud.

Authorities say Satchivi and Michael Dunlap were the primary ring leaders—-conspiring with the other defendants in fraudulent housing deals involving nine properties—- seven of them in the 30310 zip code—- an area of Fulton county ravaged by mortgage fraud and foreclosure. According to the investigation, the team purchased homes, obtained falsely inflated appraisals, sold them to fictitious buyers and then split proceeds totaling nearly three million dollars.

Satchivi was captured in Atlanta on Thursday October 9, 2008 by the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force with assistance from the District Attorney’s office. At the time of his arrest, he was carrying over 20-credit cards believed stolen from various people. Five other defendants were arrested in a joint agency sting last month. Since then, two other men have surrendered but four others remain at-large. Authorities have confiscated additional homes, cars and other assets gained from the ill-gotten proceeds.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution (this link may expire or require login) the remaining four at large are: <!— /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”“; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} —>

Paul Agbeblewu;
Charles Neequaye;
Anthony Riley, aka Aloysius Anthony Peter:
Nikoi Kotey, aka Jonathan Nikoi Kotey.