Former Attorney Pleads Guilty to Involvement in Mortgage Fraud

RALEIGH—The United States Attorney’s Office announced that in federal court today WILLIAM DEVAUGHN ORANDER, III, 40, of Goldsboro, North Carolina, pled guilty before United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, to conspiring to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.

A Criminal Information was filed on June 1, 2010.

According to the Information, ORANDER, a licensed attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina and acting as the closing attorney for numerous real estate transactions, devised and participated in a fraudulent scheme which occurred between April of 2004 and January of 2008. It is alleged that ORANDER was able to deceive the banks into funding home and land transactions at premium, refinancing terms. This allowed buyers to purchase a home and leave the closing table with title to the property and as much as 20 percent over the purchase price in cash. ORANDER allegedly executed the scheme by creating two sets of HUD-1 documents and conducting two real estate closings instead of one. The first closing appeared as a cash transaction between the seller and a buyer. Another closing was simultaneously conducted whereby the bank issued a loan to the buyer under the auspices of a refinance, causing the banks to finance original purchases at as much as 20 percent over the purchase price of the property.

ORANDER also participated directly in the scheme by being a party to numerous transactions through his closely held real estate holding companies named Goldtower Properties, LLC; Abbey Road Investments, Inc.; and Ladder 39, LLC.

At sentencing, scheduled for October 4, 2010, ORANDER faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment followed by up to five years’ supervised release and a fine of up to $1,000,000.

This case was investigated and prosecuted by this office’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force, a group of federal and state law enforcement agencies whose goal is to fast-track mortgage fraud prosecutions in this District. The investigation of this particular case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney William Gilmore represented the government.