Local Mortgage Broker Found Guilty of Bank and Wire Fraud Beniamin Lucescu Convicted of Submitting Fraudulent Mortgage Loan Applications

PORTLAND, OR—Beniamin Lucian Lucescu, 41, of Portland, Oregon, was convicted yesterday of the crimes of bank fraud and wire fraud following a three-day jury trial. Lucescu is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman on February 11, 2011 for sentencing on these charges.

Lucescu is a licensed mortgage loan broker and owner of American Capital Mortgage Corporation, located in Gresham, Oregon. The federal indictment charged that Lucescu, acting as a residential mortgage loan broker, knowingly prepared, on behalf of one borrower, five residential loan applications related to three different properties that falsified the borrower’s financial qualifications. The applications were then submitted by Lucescu to four different mortgage lenders with the intent that the lenders would approve mortgage loans for those properties based upon the false financial qualifications provided in the loan applications. The jury convicted Lucescu of all counts in the indictment.

“It is important that those in the mortgage industry, like Mr. Lucescu, be held accountable for the devastation they caused by cheating the banks and misleading their customers. The banks have lost untold millions and the effect on our economy has been obvious, but the real tragedy is the effect on the borrowers, those who were lured into mortgages they had no hope of repaying and subsequently lost everything,” said U.S. Attorney Holton. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who cheat the home mortgage loan system.”

At sentencing, the maximum penalty for each of the three bank fraud convictions is 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. The maximum penalty for each of the two wire fraud convictions is 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The actual sentence will be determined under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines based, in part, on the total amount of losses suffered by the mortgage lenders as a result of the loans. In addition, Judge Mosman will also determine prior to sentencing whether to forfeit from Lucescu all of the brokerage fees Lucescu received as a result of his conduct.

The investigation was initiated by the Portland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug.