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A participant in a Maryland scheme that targeted financially vulnerable homeowners with television ads promising they could save their homes from foreclosure but instead defrauded homeowners and mortgage lenders was sentenced yesterday to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Cheryl Brooke, 52, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, also must forfeit $2,228,878.
From at least 2004 until May 2008, Brooke and her co-conspirators Michael K. Lewis, Earnest Lewis and Winston Thomas aired television advertisements targeting homeowners who were facing foreclosure on their homes because of their inability to make monthly mortgage payments. They sought to steal the homeowners' equity out of their property by inducing the homeowners to sell their property to Lewis and convert the sale proceeds to their use.
Lewis told homeowners that their "lease/buy-back program" would help the homeowners to keep their homes. Lewis and Thomas, a senior loan officer with a mortgage lender, told the homeowners that the "good credit" of Earnest Lewis would be used to temporarily refinance their homes, that they had to sign their homes over to Earnest Lewis and that they could repurchase the homes in roughly one year, or once they regained their financial footing. During the interim, they could remain in their homes only by paying inflated "rent" and fees, which payments were directly debited from their bank accounts to an account belonging to Cheryl Brooke's company, "In the House Technologies." Brooke then made payments to Earnest Lewis and Thomas, with the remaining funds being used by Michael K. Lewis and Brooke for their personal benefit.
In addition, in order to induce mortgage lenders to provide mortgage loans to purchase the homes, Thomas submitted false financial and employment information to mortgage lenders. After financing was obtained to purchase the properties, Brooke would file motions to dismiss the homeowners' bankruptcy cases so that the settlements could take place.
Michael K. Lewis, 57 and his brother Earnest Lewis, 52, both of Takoma Park, Maryland, were sentenced to 78 months in prison and 54 months in prison, respectively. Winston Thomas, 43, New Carrollton, Maryland was sentenced to 37 months in prison. They court also entered a preliminary forfeiture judgment against all three men of $2,228,878.
From
Real Estate Economy Watch
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