Trumbull Man Admits Role in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that MOHAMMED N. ISLAM, also known as “Tanveer,” 38, of Trumbull, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie G. Foschio in Bridgeport to conspiring to defraud financial institutions through an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that involved dozens of properties in Fairfield County.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2006 and 2013, ISLAM participated in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that involved the purchase of numerous single and multi-family properties, primarily in Bridgeport and Stamford. During the scheme, materially false information was provided to mortgage lenders by ISLAM and his co-conspirators. The fraudulent information included false verifications of mortgage applicants’ income, false verifications of down payments for real estate transactions and false HUD-1 Forms.

In pleading guilty, ISLAM admitted that he recruited and directed the actions of several “straw buyers,” or individuals who fraudulently applied for and obtained mortgage loans but did not have an actual financial investment or stake in the mortgage loan transactions. In fact, ISLAM was the intended owner of the property, managed the property and collected all of the rents from the property.

Through this scheme, lenders suffered losses of more than $7 million. Many of the properties involved in this mortgage fraud scheme ended up in foreclosure, or in short sale transactions.

ISLAM pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall on June 4, 2014, and faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Nevins and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John McReynolds.