Thomas and Heidi Komasa Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that former Vermont residents Thomas Komasa, 48, and his wife Heidi Komasa, 40, who now like in Saugerties, New York, were sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington following their convictions last summer on a mortgage fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions, III sentenced Tom Komasa to 47 months’ imprisonment and Heidi Komasa to time served, coupled with six months of home confinement. He ordered Tom Komasa to serve five years of supervised release following completion of his prison term, and Heidi to serve three years of supervised release. He ordered both defendants to pay restitution in an amount to be determined. The court directed Tom Komasa to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on July 9 to begin serving his sentence.

On May 27, 2010, a federal grand jury in Burlington returned a 10-count superseding indictment charging the Komasas with conspiracy and mail, wire, and bank fraud. According to the indictment, between 2004 and 2006, the Komasas made false statements and used falsified documentation to obtain mortgage loans to buy and refinance five parcels of residential real estate in Chittenden County. The couple allegedly bought the properties for investment purposes, with the intention of reselling them in a rising real estate market. According to the indictment, the Komasas obtained more than $2 million in loans for which they otherwise were not qualified by, among other things, inflating the income they reported in mortgage applications; overvaluing assets and understating liabilities; and supplying falsified documentation concerning their financial affairs to the lending institutions.

The Komasas resold one of the five properties in 2006 for a small profit. However, they were unable to maintain payments on the four other mortgages and, as a result, those properties were eventually foreclosed upon.

A 10th count in the indictment charged Tom Komasa with another bank fraud. According to the indictment, in 2005, Komasa wrote a $19,000 check drawn on an account that had been closed for almost four years. He then deposited the worthless check into a business account at his credit union and engaged in financial transactions with the apparent funds.

Following a week-long jury trial in Burlington last summer, a jury convicted Tom Komasa on all 10 counts and convicted Heidi Komasa on eight of the nine charges against her.

This case was investigated by the Burlington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Thomas Komasa is represented by Elizabeth Mann and Heidi Komasa by Mark Kaplan. The prosecutors are U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.