In a press release the Colorado Division of Real Estate announced that the Board has alleged that Pueblo appraiser James Esters overvalued eight Pueblo properties. The Board assessed a $24,000 fine. Mr. Esters agreed to permanently surrender his appraiser license and pay $7,500, the balance of the fine becoming due should he attempt to reapply for licensure.

Overvaluing property contributes to the state’s rising foreclosure rate. “We will aggressively pursue appraisers who demonstrate a pattern of overvaluing properties,” said Erin Toll, Director of the Division of Real Estate. “We will be taking a particularly close look at valuations in Greeley and Pueblo, counties with extremely high foreclosure rates.”

In the Final Stipulation (Order) for this case order the Board looked at 8 properties:
2681 Emilia Street, Pueblo
1230 Elm Street, Pueblo
1800 E. Evans Ave, Pueblo
1712 Quillian Avenue, Pueblo
1322 Bragdon Ave, Pueblo
2026 E Routt Street, Pueblo
1716 Jones Avenue, Pueblo

In addition the appraisal of a further property at 1706 Spruce Street, Pueblo was referred directly to the Colorado Attorney General. Click here to read the order.

In the following February 20, 2007 press release Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced the indictment of Robert O. Bryant (pictured below) (DOB 10/7/1958) on 49 counts of securities fraud and one count of theft. Each of the counts is a class 3 felony, punishable by up to 12 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.

“Individuals who commit securities fraud prey upon the trust and good faith of Coloradans,” said Attorney General Suthers. “Cases like this demonstrate that fraudulent activity will not go unnoticed, and responsible parties will be held accountable.”

Bryant was allegedly involved in a scam that promised investors high rates of return on loans backed by deeded real estate. Bryant and his partner, Orange County California’s Salvatore Favata, approached consumers across the Front Range through California-based National Consumer Mortgage Company. Bryant allegedly claimed to represent individuals needing a loan with real property as collateral; often, when no such individuals or property actually existed. All told, Bryant is accused of taking in excess of $9.4 million from Colorado families through 130 different transactions. More than $8 million of those funds were never repaid.

The indictment was filed in Douglas County District Court. The Attorney General’s Office and 18th Judicial District Attorney are working cooperatively to prosecute the defendant. It should be noted, any indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty.

The Denver Post is reporting the filing of guilty pleas on January 5, 2007 by four defendants in a mortgage fraud being prosecuted by Kenneth M. Harmon an Assistant US Attorney in Colorado.

The indictment obtained by TPG (click here to read it) reveals that a total of 7 people were charged in this case and they are:
Ronald Fontenot – a mortgage broker with First Choice Mortgage who has entered a guilty plea and owner of PIK Properties and Investments, L.L.C
Torrence James - a mortgage broker with First Choice Mortgage and Green River Mortgage who has also entered a guilty plea
Nicole Puller - a mortgage broker with Rapid Contracting Services who has entered a plea of guilty
Glenn Puller - a purchaser who has entered a guilty plea
Talita James - a purchaser who has entered a guilty plea
Taiwan Lee - a purchaser who has entered a guilty plea
Cindy Ingram - a purchaser who has entered a guilty plea

The properties mentioned in the indictment are:
14543 E.Purdue Place , Aurora
14870 E.Jefferson Avenue , Aurora
620 York Street , Denver
4625 Milwaukee Street , Denver
14052 E.Chenango Drive , Aurora
14012 E.Chenango Drive , Aurora
14062 E.Chenango Drive , Aurora
14022 E.Chenango Drive, Aurora
13972 E.Whitaker Dr.,Aurora
13982 E.Whitaker Dr. ,Aurora
14043 E.Whitaker Dr. ,Aurora
13941 E.Whitaker Dr.,Aurora
13981 E.Whitaker Dr. ,Aurora
14034 E.Whitaker Dr.,Aurora
14001 E.Whitaker Dr.,Aurora
13991 E.Whitaker Dr.,Aurora
13992 E.Whitaker Dr.,Aurora

Fontenot, Puller and James are also accused of ID Theft and paying kickbacks to straw borrowers/purchases some of whom have not been indicted.

The Post reports that according to a series of complaints and indictments, Fontenot and Torrence James, a man he met in federal prison in Colorado, recruited buyers, supplied false loan application information and arranged to buy homes “above the listed sales prices,” sometimes with Nicole Puller’s help.

Fontenot and James also set up businesses purporting to make home improvements, which they instead used to siphon money at loan closings to themselves and pay kickbacks to the buyers, an indictment in Denver’s U.S. District Court alleged. Five of the buyers were former prison inmates who bought a dozen homes in four months at The Villas at Cherry Creek, a gated community overlooking Cherry Creek State Park.

The US Attorney will be issuing a press release following sentencing of the defendants, some of whom will be sentenced on February 23, 2007.

Update on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 07:04PM by The Editor - Ian Shuter

Troy A. Eid, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, Terry L. Stuart, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, and Ron Perea, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Denver Office, announced that TORRENCE JAMES , age 44, of Centennial, Colorado, was sentenced to serve 151 months (over 12 years) in federal prison for mortgage fraud. JAMES was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Edward W. Nottingham.

JAMES was one of seven defendants charged as part of this mortgage fraud scheme. NICOLE PULLER was sentenced to serve 34 months in federal prison. GLENN PULLER was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison. TALITA JAMES was sentenced to serve 24 months in federal prison. TAIWAN LEE was sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison, CINDY INGRAM was sentenced to serve 28 months in prison. RONALD FONTENOT was sentenced to serve 72 months in federal prison.

Click here for the full DOJ press release. 

Jorge Castan Camacho (DOB: 09-08-70) is charged with Violation of Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (F2), seven counts of Theft (F3), seven counts of Forgery (F5) and six counts of Criminal Impersonation (F6).

Between and including May 5, 2004 and March 30, 2005 Camacho unlawfully used and assumed the names, dates of births, social security numbers and other personal information of individuals to obtain loans or funding in their names for the purchases of properties in which Camacho had a financial interest i.e. owner, mortgage broker and/or a sales agreement with a developer. The charges allege that he sold properties and collected fees at closings for illegal gains. Losses totaled more than $100,000 from numerous victims.

A copy of the indictment (click here to read it) was kindly supplied to us by the DA’s office and it reveals that Camacho ran the following companies, USA Mortgage Lending Capital Corp and Grupo Camacho both of which traded from 2011 Lowell Blvd, Denver and 1827 Grant St. #1002, Denver.

The propeties mentioned in the indictment are:

1940 Blake St. # 301, Denver
1827 Grant St., #501, Denver
1827 Grant St. #1002, Denver
1837 Grant St., #501, Denver
1837 Grant St., #1002, Denver
4352 East 115^th Ave., Thornton
5186 Fraser St., Denver
863 Trout Creek Dr., Fairplay
824 Trout Creek Dr. , Fairplay
1556 Trenton St., Denver

On October 31, 2006 The Colorado Division of Real Estate  announced a decision by the Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers to file charges against two real estate appraisers for violating Colorado law. The Board filed charges against:

James Esters (Parker) seeking revocation of his license and a $24,000 fine for 48 violations of the real estate appraiser standards. Division of Real Estate investigators allege that Esters overvalued 7 properties in the Pueblo area an average of 70% over their real value. One property was allegedly overvalued by 100%. All 7 properties went into foreclosure.

Albert Jajt (Pueblo West)  In a separate action the Board filed charges against alleging 113 violations and is seeking revocation of his license and a fine of $56,500. Fajt is alleged to have overvalued at least 12 properties in the Colorado Springs area, increasing the sales price of one home by 46%. Many of the properties were listed for sale at reduced prices for months, but Fajt adjusted his appraisals to reflect the increased sales prices.

Allegations against both appraisers include charges of using improper comparables and other practices to artificially inflate the value of properties. Such practices are harmful to consumers and lenders and are believed to contribute to the increase in real estate foreclosures in Colorado.

Click here for the DORA Press Release

In the course of investigating the hit and run death of Justin Goodman, John Ferrugia a reporter for ABC 7 News in Denver uncovered evidence of what ABC 7 allege is a mortgage fraud ring set up to obtain fraudulent mortgages for illegal immigrants.

The investigation found that Daniel Martinez-Ruiz, an illegal immigrant, and his wife Conception Hernandez were charged this month with using phony documents to purchase property. Martinez is a relative of Roberto Martinez-Ruiz, the man eventually convicted of the hit and run death.

7News found that the immigrant family used the phony documents, and in apparent collusion with realtors and lenders, received fraudulent loans to buy two homes in Thornton which were backed by F.H.A. loans, one of those homes is located at East 77th Avenue in Thornton, CO.

But 7NEWS investigators have learned Martinez used a phony name on a fraudulent alien card because he had no credit and documents show that Hernandez used a fraudulent Colorado driver’s license. In addition they learnt that that part of the scheme involved phony W-2 forms and pay stubs from a Colorado cleaning service. Golden Eagle Cleaning was set up by Daniel Martinez, again with fraudulent documents, as income verification to obtain the loan.

But Hernandez claims it wasn’t the family who produced the fraudulent financial documents, but the realtor and lender.

Click here to view the video news report.

The lender’s (broker) mentioned and interviews in the report is William Romano.

The case is now being investigated by the Adams County District Attorney’s office.

In the following press release the Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey today announced that seven more suspects have been arrested in the continuing state and federal investigation of mortgage fraud that involves hundreds of homes and million of dollars of federally-insured mortgages.

According to arrest affidavits filed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, each obtained a mortgage by filing false documents with lenders, including forged Social Security cards and fake resident alien documents known as “Green Cards.” Based on the fraudulent applications, federal home loan guarantees were issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Any default on those loans can become the financial responsibility of the taxpayers.

“This isn’t just a raid on the U.S. Treasury,” said Storey. “Real people have had their Social Security numbers stolen to make the false documents. When that happens, their credit and even their status with the I.R.S. can really be damaged. It can take years for innocent people to recover from this form of identity theft, which they often discover when they try to buy a house themselves.”

The continuing investigation is a collaborative effort of the CBI, the District Attorney’s Office, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and federal agents from HUD, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Social Security Administration, the Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. State Department, all of whom participated in the arrests.

“We have been particularly impressed with the cooperation of the federal agents involved in this investigation,” Storey said. “Without their significant contributions, these cases could not be filed.”

Storey also praised the owner of the Re/Max 100 Realtors in Lakewood, Jim Weichselbaum, for reporting the suspicious conduct that led to the original investigation. “He’s obviously dedicated to ethics in the real estate business,” Storey said.

The seven arrested will be advised of the charges on Tuesday, November, 21 at 10:00 in Courtroom 1B of the Jefferson County District Court. They include:

• Maria Isabel Baca , DOB 11/19/73, of Denver
• Juan Cervantes , DOB 08/12/66, of Aurora
• Jose Dolores Anaya Ruelas , DOB 04/05/74, of Lakewood
• Hector Jimenez-Villazana , DOB 04/10/84, of Aurora
• Roger Heriberto Lopez , DOB 12/14/80, of Lakewood
• Maria De Los Angeles Mendez , DOB 04/08/82, of Thornton
• Jorge Villegas-Rodriguez , DOB 03/17/74, of Denver

This brings the number arrested in this case to 15. Please click here to see the entry regarding the arrests of the 8 other suspects.