ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WUSA) - Five people have pled guilty to conspiring to secure more than $1.5 million in a mortgage fraud scheme involving a home in Gainesville, Va. according to Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A federal grand jury has also indicted one individual for his alleged role in the real estate transaction.
According to the four-count federal indictment, Jea Min Lee, 34, of Centreville, Va., is charged with engaging in a conspiracy to defraud financial institutions into making fraudulent mortgage loans. The conspiracy allegedly involved a mortgage broker, an unqualified strawbuyer, an executive from a title company, and multiple intermediaries who prepared and approved fraudulent loan documents. According to court documents, the total amount of mortgage loans approved through the alleged conspiracy exceeded $1.5 million, with losses to financial institutions of over $700,000.
The indictment alleges that Jea Min Lee and his co-conspirators prepared and submitted false, fraudulent, and misleading mortgage loan applications for an unqualified buyer who would not have otherwise been approved for the loan. The fraudulent applications contained false information about the applicant's employment, income, assets, immigration status, and intent to live in the property as a primary residence. Court documents tate that a month after conspirators fraudulently obtained $1.2 million in mortgage loan proceeds, they applied for and fraudulently received a $350,000 home equity loan, the proceeds of which were distributed among some of the conspirators.
According to the indictment, Jea Min Lee and his conspirators created fake documents to corroborate false information contained in fraudulent loan applications including a fake lease, fabricated bank statement, and a bogus W-2. One conspirator also falsely verified another conspirator's employment in order to qualify for the loan.
Peter Kim, 39, of Fairfax, Va.; Bok Hee Lee, 37, of South Riding, Va.; Jai Sek Lee, 50, of Ashburn, Va.; Jai Song, 41, of McLean; and Erin Cullen, 32, of Fairfax, Va., have each pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and face a maximum penalty of five years in prison when they are sentenced in August 2012.
The continuing investigation being conducted by the FBI's Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Uzo Asonye is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.