A DPS Detective on the Mortgage Fraud Task Force was researching the names used by individuals to purchase two specific properties which totaled $650,000 in value. He pulled up the MVD database and utilized their facial recognition system to show that the names given with purchases per MVD records, did not match faces that were on their licenses in the database. Also, different dates of birth and social security numbers were used. He then compared those images with pictures of our client on Facebook and he found that there was a match.
He then researched the mortgage documents from the mortgage company and analyzed the Residential Loan Applications. He discovered that Real Estate Agent, conspiring with the Loan Officer, then made contact with a Loan Processor and our client (who is the buyer of the purchases/two mortgages). He discovered that these were actual “straw purchases” that were being facilitated by way of forgery and fraud on the various banking institutions that loaned the money for the residential purchases.
We were able to show the Prosecutor that our client’s only connection to this scheme was that he used a false identity to purchase the houses. Although this could still be charged as Forgery, we proved he did not have the required mental state relating to Fraud Schemes to show that he “knowingly obtained any benefit by using the fraudulent name.” The Prosecution agreed to reduce the charges to Securing the Proceeds of an Offense, which carried with it probation and zero days in jail. Originally, our client was facing mandatory prison due to the fact that the amount of the Fraud Scheme was above $100,000.
