Disbarred Attorney Cops Plea In Fraudulent Rescue Scam; Homes Drained Of Equity, Then Fall To Foreclosure; Owners Get Boot; Investors Left Holding Bag

In Worcester, Massachusetts, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports:

• Disbarred lawyer Raymond A. Desautels III of Oxford, awaiting sentencing on wire fraud charges in U.S. District Court, pleaded guilty [...] in Worcester Superior Court to charges related to his role in what prosecutors said was an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme. Mr. Desautels, 43, [...] is to be sentenced Dec. 1 [...] after entering guilty pleas [...] to five counts of inducing a mortgage lender to part with property by false pretenses. The former real estate lawyer was one of four people indicted last month in what authorities said was a scheme organized by Allen J. Seymour of Oxford under which Mr. Seymour transformed apparent equity in distressed properties into cash after targeting homes in danger of foreclosure and offering the owners various rescue options.(1)

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• On five occasions [...], Mr. Desautels was an active participant in a plan to obtain mortgage lender funds through fraudulent real estate transactions, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Doherty told Judge [James R.] Lemire [...]. Nearly $3 million in loans were obtained for such purchases and Mr. Desautels conducted the closings for Mr. Seymour, according to Mr. Doherty. The homeowners were not present and their documents were signed using a false power of attorney, the prosecutor said.

For the story, see Disbarred Oxford lawyer pleads guilty in mortgage fraud scheme.

For the Massachusetts Attorney General press release, see AGO Announces Guilty Plea of Former Real Estate Lawyer and Arraignment of Worcester Woman in Complex Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

(1) According to the Massachusetts AG, Seymour allegedly found individuals with good credit who were looking to begin investing in real estate. Many of these “investors” were allegedly told they would be helping homeowners in danger of foreclosure. Seymour allegedly told several investors that the purchase would only be temporary, and the homeowners would purchase the property back from them after Seymour repaired the homeowner’s credit. After the closing, several investors state that Seymour abandoned them to the mortgage payments. Without Seymour’s assistance, the investors were unable to pay the loans, and these mortgages themselves fell into foreclosure. Some homeowners, allegedly promised lifetime leases, have been evicted from their homes by these foreclosures. foreclosure rescue equity stripping