Indianapolis Feds: Suspect Used Phony Mortgages, Bogus Repair Bills To Pocket Cash, Rip Off Lenders In Straw Buyer Scam

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Indianapolis, Indiana):

• Joseph H. Hogsett, United States Attorney, announced that Roger D. McKuhen, age 66, formerly of Avon, Ind., and currently a resident of Virginia, was charged [] in an indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, [...].



• The indictment alleges that between April 2006 and January 2007, McKuhen and his coconspirators conspired to defraud various mortgage lenders by creating false, fraudulent, and bogus second mortgages and false estimates and fake invoices for repairs, which allowed McKuhen and his co-conspirators to use funds provided by the lenders at closing to settle the false second mortgages and repair bills as down payments on the properties, all without the lenders’ knowledge.

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• For each property, McKuhen created either: (1) a false second mortgage payable to a company owned by McKuhen; or (2) a fraudulent invoice or estimate (payable to a coconspirator) for repair work allegedly done or to be done to the property, even though McKuhen knew that the repair work would never be done. These false mortgages and/or repair invoices or estimates were presented at closing as genuine, and the title agent initiated payments to settle the bogus mortgages and repair invoices/estimates to McKuhen’s company and/or McKuhen’s coconspirators.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Hogsett announces indictment of ex-Indianapolis area realtor in mortgage fraud scheme.