Title Company Owner Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Mortgage Fraud
Was a Fugitive for Almost a Year
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 17, 2011 |
BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Daniel E. Fink Jr., age 44, of Baltimore, who operated Homemaxx Title & Escrow LLC (Homemaxx), a title company that conducted residential real estate closings with offices in Middle River and Parkville, Maryland, today to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud lenders and homeowners of more than $2.2 million. Judge Motz also ordered Fink to forfeit $2.2 million and to pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses. The total loss amount has not yet been determined, but is estimated to be at least $2.2 million.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to Fink’s plea agreement, from February 2003 to July 2004, Fink defrauded lenders, a title insurance company, and homeowners to obtain more than $2.2 million. Fink made arrangements for Homemaxx to act as the title company for real estate settlements and refinancing transactions. Lenders deposited funds in Homemaxx escrow accounts that Fink controlled. As part of the scheme, Fink caused title insurance to be issued to individuals purchasing or refinancing real estate, but concealed facts that negatively affected the buyers’ title in the real estate transactions. Fink also made misrepresentations to lenders in connection with transactions in which Fink purportedly was buying or selling the property and handling the settlement on behalf of Homemaxx. For example, in a number of transactions, Fink represented to lenders that he was purchasing property and obtained a loan for that purpose. In fact, Fink purchased only the ground rent connected to that address and used the remainder of the loan for his personal benefit.
In addition, despite Fink’s representations to lenders that escrow funds were properly distributed after settlement, Homemaxx to failed to pay outstanding first mortgages on real estate transactions or to properly record deeds. Fink also improperly transferred substantial amounts of money from a Homemaxx escrow account into other accounts, and used the money intended to be disbursed pursuant to real estate closing documents for personal expenditures unrelated to the intended real estate transactions.
Among other personal expenditures, Fink used the money to buy personal gifts for women, including over $200,000 of escrow money to purchase a property in Florida for a female acquaintance, and $59,728 to purchase a new 2004 Mercedes CLK 500 for a woman Fink knew from the Gentlemen’s Gold Club. Fink also used $61,965 to buy a 2003 Hummer H2, repeatedly spent the proceeds of his scheme at the Gentlemen’s Gold Club, on gambling, and on trips to Paradise Island, Bahamas.
In April 2004, Fink was confronted by representatives of the title insurance company about substantial amounts of money missing from the Homemaxx escrow account. Fink later fled the Baltimore area and used aliases to engage in real estate transactions in Florida. On March 26, 2009, a federal grand jury in Baltimore returned an indictment charging Fink with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the scheme. Fink was arrested in Florida on February 15, 2010 by the Palm Beach Police Department.
The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate mortgage fraud and promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and promote the integrity of the credit markets.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, the Palm Beach, Florida Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution, and thanked Assistant United States Attorney Harry M. Gruber, who prosecuted the case.