Seven Northland Residents Indicted in Parkville Mortgage Fraud Scheme

KANSAS CITY, MO—Matt J. Whitworth, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that seven Kansas City, Mo., residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme that involved the purchase of a $605,000 house in Parkville, Mo.

Lloyd Claerhout, 26, Scott J. Schirmer, 32, William R. Wonder III, 31, David E. Twitty, 27, Cameron D. Bennett, 34, Jennifer R. Hernandez, 37, and Katherine S. Sartain, 53, all of Kansas City-North, were charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City.

The federal indictment alleges that each of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud from July to October 2007. In addition to the conspiracy, each defendant is charged with one count of bank fraud. According to the indictment, the defendants planned to purchase the property for $605,000 then immediately re-sell it at a profit.

Schirmer allegedly located a residential property at 8118 Clearwater Pointe in Parkville, with the understanding that it would be purchased and then resold at a profit to everyone involved. Schirmer paid Wonder $3,000, the indictment says, in order to use his name for the initial purchase of the property.

Wonder completed a loan application, with the assistance of Bennett and Twitty, which contained false financial information. Wonder allegedly signed two loan applications for Bank of America, totaling $605,000, which each contained false information regarding his monthly income, employment and bank account balances.

Schirmer then arranged to have Claerhout purchase the property from Wonder at a profit. Schirmer allegedly arranged the collection of the necessary down payment from Bennett, Wonder, Twitty and ot! hers to assist Claerhout in the purchase of the property. Co-defendants allegedly submitted loan applications and supporting documentation containing material false representations to North American Savings Bank, the mortgage lender.

Claerhout allegedly signed a Uniform Residential Loan Application for $637,600, which contained false and fraudulent information regarding his monthly income, employment, and bank account balances, in order to obtain a loan for a portion of the purchase.

Hernandez, who was employed as a teller at Mazuma, allegedly signed a “Request for Verification of Deposit” which stated that Claerhout had a current balance of $127,131 in his savings account, and an average balance for the previous two months of $127,882. Hernandez allegedly manipulated the records by transferring funds from other Mazuma accounts into Claerhout’s account to falsely reflect a substantial savings account balance, then later voiding the transfers.

Sartain, a real estate agent, allegedly signed a “Request for Verification of Rent or Mortgage Account” which falsely indicated that Claerhout was paying $4,300 rent.

Whitworth cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark. It was investigated by the FBI.