4 Lawyers Among Five To Go To Trial In Alleged Sale Leaseback F'closure Rescue Scam; 3 Others Cop Guilty Pleas; Civil Suits To Reclaim Losses Ongoing

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

• Five suspects in an alleged mortgage scheme — including four lawyers — will go to trial in August,(1) fighting charges that they cost four Westchester County families their homes and swindled two mortgage lenders out of $1.4 million.

• Meanwhile, three other defendants have pleaded guilty to roles in the scheme and will be sentenced this summer.(2) Prosecutors say the eight suspects swindled vulnerable people in Croton-on-Hudson, Yorktown, Cortlandt and Mount Vernon who were about to lose their homes. The suspects promised to help save their homes, but instead left the homeowners with nothing.(3) [...] The Westchester County District Attorney's Office and the state Banking Department investigated the case.

For the story, see Trial date set in Westchester mortgage-fraud case.

(1) Lawyers David Reback of Rye Brook, Eileen Potash of Queens, Mildred Didio of Manhattan and Frank Corigliano of Newtown, Conn., appeared in court with Amerigo DiPietro of Brewster, who owned Interstate Monetary Concepts in Briarcliff Manor. Jury selection for their trial will begin Aug. 9. They face up to 15 years in state prison on the top count of the indictment against them.

(2) Doreen Swenson and Hubert "Phil" Hall a married couple from Tarrytown, reportedly already pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud, both felonies, for helping to set up the phony mortgages. They agreed to serve 2 to 6 years in state prison and will be sentenced Aug. 5, the story states. Wilma Shkreli of Westwood, N.J., also known as Wilma Gecay, also reportedly pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny and is expected to be sentenced on July 20 to five years probation. Prosecutors reportedly said she posed an an investor.

(3) According to the story, prosecutors described the three-year scam like this:

• The group found their victims through notices of public auction or foreclosure. They reached out to them and gained their trust, saying they could transfer their deed to an investor, who would hold the title for 12 to 24 months so they could save money and reclaim their home.
• But once the "investor" took title, phony checks were presented to the lenders for much higher amounts than what the straw buyer paid for the home. Those checks allowed the group's members to get inflated mortgages, which they used to pay off the original mortgage and keep the remainder for themselves.
• With the homes stripped of their equity, the former owners were left with nothing. They have filed civil lawsuits to try to reclaim what they lost, prosecutors said.