Home Baltimore Press Releases 2010 Silver Spring Man Indicted in $1.7 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme
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Silver Spring Man Indicted in $1.7 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

U.S. Attorney’s Office October 08, 2010
  • District of Maryland (410) 209-4800

GREENBELT, MD—A federal grand jury has indicted Wayne James Carter, age 47, of Silver Spring, Maryland, on wire and mail fraud charges in connection with a $1.7 million mortgage fraud scheme. The indictment was returned on July 28, 2010, and unsealed today. Carter had his initial appearance at 2:45 p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the 13-count indictment, Carter allegedly made false statements on loan documents as to his monthly income, outstanding judgments against him and lawsuits to which he was a party. Carter is also alleged to have represented that he was not obligated to pay child support, when in fact he was obligated to pay child support. The indictment alleges that based on Carter’s false statements, lenders approved loans on five properties, totaling $1,794,675.80, which is the amount the government seeks to forfeit as the proceeds of the scheme.

Carter faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each count of mail and wire fraud.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate mortgage fraud and promote the early detection, identification, prevention, and prosecution of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the task force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and promote the integrity of the credit markets. Information about mortgage fraud prosecutions is available www.justice.gov/usao/md/Mortgage-Fraud/index.html.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the FBI for its work on this investigation and recognized the Greenbelt Office of the United States Trustee Program, the Department of Justice agency that supervises bankruptcy cases and trustees, for its assistance. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart A. Berman, who is prosecuting the case.

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