Tennessee Feds Charge Mortgage Broker With Ripping Off Refinancing Proceeds From Customers

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Eastern District, Tennessee):

• Thomas Duane Roderick, age 42, of Wesley Chapel, Florida, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, charged with one (1) count of wire fraud, three (3) counts of bank fraud, and three (3) counts of money laundering.

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• The indictment states that Roderick worked with Premier Mortgage [...] in Greeneville, Tennessee, and used various real estate closing agencies in Greene County. At the closings, Roderick would provide legal documents for the signature of the clients seeking loans, and the closing agency would disburse funds as required by the lending institution. Roderick allegedly set up a sham investment company entitled MSI and set up a checking account used to capture money from clients.

• The indictment charges that Roderick caused one client to wire $20,000 to MSI, falsely telling this client that she would owe taxes on the $20,000 equity she received from the refinancing of her home mortgage. Roderick convinced her that if she turned the funds over to him, he would invest the money to avoid taxes. The indictment states that Roderick never invested the funds and immediately withdrew them within two days of the wire transfer.

• Additionally, the indictment charges that Roderick persuaded another client to authorize $119,000 to be wired into his bank account by representing to her that he would use the funds to pay off her mortgage, pay her and her daughter’s outstanding bills, and to assist her granddaughter in obtaining a mobile home. Instead, the indictment states, Roderick spent the $119,000 within three weeks for his personal living expenses.

For the entire press release, see THOMAS DUANE RODERICK ARRESTED FOR MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME. TheftOfDeedMeta