Three Charged in Versailles Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Miami Field Office; Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer, Department of Financial Services; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and the members of the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, announced the unsealing of an indictment against defendants Patrick Brinson, 34, of Miami; David Lam, 42, of Parkland; and Godfrey Myles, 42, of Miami.

The 11-count indictment charges defendants Brinson, Lam, and Myles with a mortgage fraud scheme involving two properties in the Versailles development in Wellington, Florida. All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; two counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343; and one count of making false statements on loan applications to mortgage lender American Broker’s Conduit, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. Defendants Brinson and Myles are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h); and six counts of money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison on the mail and wire fraud conspiracy, 20 years in prison on each of the wire fraud counts, and five years in prison on the false statement charge. Defendants Brinson and Myles also face a maximum 20 years imprisonment for the money laundering conspiracy, and 10 years in prison for each of the money laundering counts.

According to the indictment, Brinson, Lam, Myles, and others conspired to obtain more than $2.55 million in mortgage loans on the Versailles properties by using straw buyers to submit false documentation substantially inflating the purchase price of the properties. The conspirators recruited an attorney to prepare double HUD-1 settlement statements, giving one set with the real price to the seller and another with the inflated price to the lender. More than $488,000 in fraudulent loan proceeds were laundered by Brinson and Myles and others through multiple accounts and were ultimately used for the benefit of the defendants and others.

U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS, Department of Financial Services, FBI, and the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Evans and Carolyn Bell.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.