Escrow Agent Cops Plea To $470K+ Closing Proceeds Ripoff; Insurance Premiums, Closing Costs Left Unpaid; Title Underwriter Left Picking Up The Tab

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio reports:

• A Prior Lake woman pled guilty Friday to stealing more than $470,000 in a mortgage fraud scam. Roseann Wagner admitted operating a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders, borrowers, and a title insurance underwriter in 2007. Wagner, a licensed insurance agent, accepted more than $470,000 from lenders at hundreds of closings, and then pocketed the money.

• As a result, title insurance premiums, title search costs, and recording fees on hundreds of residential mortgage transactions went unpaid. Wagner owned and operated Tri-Star Title, a title insurance agency. Tri-Star was the insurance agent for Stewart Title Guaranty Co., a Texas-based title insurance underwriting company. When Stewart Title Guaranty discovered that Wagner had stolen the funds, it absorbed the losses of the borrowers, and paid the premiums and other expenses.

• Wagner also admitted that she failed to file a tax return or pay taxes on more than $270,000 in 2007. She owes the Internal Revenue Service at least $70,000.

For the story, see Woman pleads guilty to $470,000 mortgage fraud scam. EscrowRipOffKappa