Philly Feds Charge Pair For Alleged Use Of Home Improvement Racket To Swindle Unwitting Owners Out Of Their Home Equity

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania):

• The owner of a home improvement company and a mortgage loan officer were charged today by information in a home improvement and mortgage fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Michael L. Levy. Calvin Harris, owner of the Philadelphia Homes Improvement Outreach Program (“PHIOP”), is charged with two counts of wire fraud. Jonathan Ganz, a loan officer for a mortgage brokerage company, is charged with one count of wire fraud.

• Harris focused his sales efforts on the African-American community in Philadelphia, promising home improvement work on the houses of those clients who signed with him. He also promised to help them secure financing for the work. For the mortgages, he partnered with Ganz who would complete the necessary paperwork to obtain the loans for the PHIOP customers.

• According to the indictment, Harris took the funds intended for his clients’ home improvements and misspent them, using some of the money for cars, clothes, and vacations for himself and his family.

For the rest of the press release, see Two Charged In Home Improvement Loan Scam.

For the criminal charges, see U.S. v. Harris, et ano.