Westchester DA Indicts Eight In Alleged Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scam After Joint Probe w/ NYS Banking Dept.; Four Families Victimized

In White Plains, New York, The Journal News reports:

• Eight people(1) were indicted for a countywide mortgage scheme that defrauded four families and two mortgage lenders of $1.4 million, Westchester authorities announced [Tuesday]. The perpetrators "induced desperate property owners fearing the threat of foreclosure to deed their homes to 'investors' with the promise that they could re-purchase their property in 12 to 24 months," District Attorney Janet DiFiore stated in a news release. "In fact, the defendants colluded to strip the property of its equity by obtaining inflated mortgages based on fictitious purchase prices using 'show' checks to deceive the banks as to the actual purchase price." The arrests followed a nine-month probe by DiFiore's office and the state Banking Department. The targeted families were from Croton-on-Hudson, Yorktown, Cortlandt and Mount Vernon.

Reportedly, Westchester DA Fiore said that four members of the alleged racket were attorneys,(2) and that the four victims who had their home equity ripped off in the sale-buyback deals would have to bring civil lawsuits against the alleged perpetrators to try to get their homes back.(3)

Source: Eight indicted in Westchester mortgage scheme.

For the Westchester DA press release, see Indictment Unsealed In Countywide Mortgage Fraud Scheme (Eight Individuals Defrauded 4 Families For 1.4 Million Dollars).

(1) Arrested were Doreen Swenson, 60, and Herbert "Phil" Hall, 60, of Tarrytown; Mildred Didio, 44, of Manhattan; David Reback, 67, of Rye Brook; Amerigo DiPietro, 59, of Brewster; Eileen Potash, 52, of Queen; Wilma Shkreli, also known as Wilma Gecay, of Westwood, N.J.; and Frank Corgiliano, 44, of Newtown, Conn.

(2) The lawyers were identified as Didio, Reback, Potash, Corigliano. The four lawyers, along with the four others, were indicted Tuesday, each on charges of grand larceny, fraud and conspiracy. They pleaded not guilty. See 4 lawyers indicted in $1.4M NY scam.

(3) See DA: Lawyers taking desperate owners' NY homes.