A two year FBI investigation into Sarasota house flipping is turning into what may be the largest case of mortgage fraud in Florida's history.
A local real estate agent Craig Adams has been providing information to the FBI about one of the largest mortgage fraud schemes in Florida history. One of his longtime associates may become the center of attention as losses enter the millions, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Jonathan Glucker was in line to become the next president of the Gulf Coast Mortgage Bankers Association but now he's expected to step down or be removed from the board of directors after news reports alleged that he participated in at least 10 deals with Adams since 1997.
Adams allegedly participated in dozens of deals in which properties were sold back and forth between associates, inflating values and increasing the loans they could obtain.
One of Adams' associates, Lisa Rotolo, a Sarasota title agent who closed at least 60 deals for Adams and his associates, has been arrested in the FBI investigation. The criminal complaint against Rotolo states that a $1.68 million loan borrowed against a Sarasota property was obtained fraudulently.
Maryland-based Chevy Chase Bank sued Rotolo last month for failing to follow closing instructions in loans made to Glucker and another lender. At that time, the two brokers "were heavily in debt, had been part of a flipping scheme which greatly and falsely exaggerated the values of properties to which they were in title and have since then been defendants in numerous lawsuits," the Chevy Chase lawsuit claims.
Adams turned himself in to the FBI two years ago, and his statements to federal agents resulted in Rotolo's arrest on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud and making false statements in connection with loan applications, court documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Tampa show.
