Detroit Real Estate Investor Sentenced for Tax and Mortgage Fraud

DETROIT, MI—On January 11, 2012, Deangelo Wade, of Detroit, was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to the IRS and the FDIC. In addition, Abe Beydoun was sentenced to 12 months and one day imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to the FDIC, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today. Ms. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

Deangelo Wade, 41, and Abe Beydoun, 36, were sentenced by United States District Judge Robert H. Cleland. Judge Cleland also ordered Wade pay a special assessment of $200 and restitution to the IRS of $224,000; Beydoun was ordered to pay a special assessment of $100. Both, Beydoun and Wade, were ordered to pay restitution of $1.8 million to the FDIC and received three years of supervised released after jail time. Wade pled guilty in April 2011 to one count of mortgage fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. Beydoun pled guilty in June of 2011 to one count of mortgage fraud.

According to court documents, between 2004 and 2006, Deangelo Wade, Abe Beydoun and others executed a scheme to defraud IndyMac Bank in connection with the purchase of four properties located on Tuscan Hills Dr. in Plymouth, MI. Wade conducted real estate transactions by flipping houses and Abe Beydoun was a loan officer employed by Direct Lending Inc. in Dearborn. Wade used straw buyers and false information to obtain mortgages, from IndyMac Bank, on the properties under his real estate business with the assistance of Beydoun. Wade repaired the properties and sold them at higher values resulting in large gains. At the sales closing, the title company would issue a check to the straw buyer and the straw buyer would sign the check over to Deangelo Wade. At the time of the offense, IndyMac Bank was insured by the FDIC. From 2004 - 2006, Wade failed to report the income he made from his real estate business; Wade knowingly failed to report the commissions and gains he earned from the sale of the properties.

In November of 2006, Wade purchased a home and secured a mortgage for $1.6 million with the assistance of Beydoun. After inflating the value of the property, Wade received over $395K from the loan proceeds of the home. Wade also failed to report this additional income on his 2006 tax returns.

“Mortgage fraud remains a prosecution priority because it is a significant problem in Michigan. Mortgage fraud leads to foreclosed homes, which reduce property values and become havens for criminal activity,” McQuade said.

“Everyone is a victim of mortgage and tax fraud. These crimes create a loss of tax revenue, burden bank lenders with bad loans and leave neighborhoods abandoned with deteriorating properties. Deangelo Wade and Abe Beydoun contributed to the mortgage crisis and are being held accountable for their actions,” said Erick Martinez Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation.

The investigation of this case was conducted by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney F. William Soisson.