Waynesville Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Conspiracy Netted More Than $4.7 Million
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 19, 2011 |
DAYTON—Gregory S. Chew, 43, formerly of Waynesville, was sentenced here today to 60 months in prison following his March, 2010 conviction on one count of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to launder money, and three counts each of mail fraud and wire fraud for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme involving 17 property investors and 61 Dayton area residential properties.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, and other members of the Greater Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.
Chew was convicted of conspiring with a co-defendant, Richard C. Confer Jr. of West Carrollton, in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $4.7 million in mortgage loans from more than 15 victimized mortgage lending institutions. They obtained more than $2.7 million for their personal use from the fraudulent transactions.
Evidence was presented at trial indicating that Chew, a real estate facilitator, approached Confer, a mortgage broker with Aleva Mortgage Company, in January, 2003 and agreed to collaborate with him in extensive real estate investments. Further evidence revealed that the pair continued a business relationship for another six years, preparing numerous false, fictitious and forged mortgage loan applications and HUD-1 settlement statements to secure fraudulent loans.
Chew deposited over $2.2 million of disbursement checks from various title agencies in his own personal accounts. Chew utilized these ill-gotten funds to pay his co-conspirators, fund fraudulent down-payment checks, and for his own personal gain including the purchase of several vehicles.
Chew was also sentenced to serve five years on supervised release, a form of probation, upon completion of his prison term.
Stewart commended the joint investigation by the members of the Greater Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Keller, who prosecuted the case. Agencies participating in the Greater Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task in addition to the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division include the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Financial Institutions, and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.