Mortgage Fraud Defendant Pleads Guilty

TAMPA, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces that Chad Evans (37, Brookville, Indiana) yesterday pled guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering. Evans faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for the bank fraud charge and 10 years in federal prison for the money laundering charge.

According to the plea agreement, beginning in October 2007 and continuing through May 2008, Evans orchestrated a mortgage fraud scheme. The scheme involved Evans purchasing approximately 20 low value properties in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. Evans then resold the properties by supplying the buyers with the down payments, which he fraudulently failed to disclose to the lender. Evans then recovered the down payment funds by falsely representing to the lender that the money was being directed to pay off a company called TC Funding for construction loans. TC Funding was controlled by Evans and his wife. The money was wired to TC Funding.

“Mortgage fraud is every bit as corrosive to American society as street crime,” stated Darryl Williams, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office and Linda J. Osuna, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Tampa Field Office. “This type of fraud has far-reaching economic consequences and severely thwarts recovery from the foreclosure crisis, leaving communities with inflated home values and financial institutions with uncollectible loans.”

Both cases are scheduled for sentencing on December 21, 2011.

The cases were investigated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the FBI. They are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas N. Palermo.