Third Defendant Sentenced in $15 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

COLUMBUS—Cameron Green, 36, of Pickerington, Ohio, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $6,115,965 in restitution, jointly and severally with Jason Simcox and Kevin Simcox, to the victim mortgage lenders for fraudulently obtaining approximately $15,037,421 in mortgage loans to finance the purchase of 26 real estate properties in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Darryl Williams, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS) announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael Watson.

On January 9, 2013 Jason Simcox, 39, of Pickerington, Ohio, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge George C. Smith to 12 months and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $6,115,965 in restitution, jointly and severally with Cameron Green and Kevin Simcox, to the victim mortgage lenders.

According to court documents, between August 2006 and May 2007, the two men applied for loans using false income, assets, and occupancy statements on the loan applications. The mortgage loans were inflated to allow Simcox and Green to use the excess mortgage proceeds to generate cash kickbacks payable to co-conspirators that were undisclosed to the mortgage lenders. The co-conspirators then provided the money to Simcox and Green via interstate wire transfers.

The men used a mortgage brokerage company they co-owned, Vanguard Mortgage, located in Westerville, Ohio, to finance the purchases of the properties. Each man inflated his income, minimized his assets, failed to disclose his ownership of several other properties on which he held mortgage loans, and concealed the fact that he intended to receive substantial cash kickbacks after the closing of three properties. Simcox and Green received approximately $1,469,263.00 in seller kickbacks, real estate agent commissions, real estate agent commission kickbacks, and fees.

All 26 of the Arizona properties were subsequently sold short or foreclosed upon due to the borrowers being unable to pay the monthly mortgage payments.

Stewart commended Assistant United States Attorney Laura Fulton who prosecuted these cases and the cooperative investigation conducted by FBI and IRS agents as part of the Southern Ohio Mortgage Fraud Task Force.