Rent Skimming Racket, Use Of Forged Lien Releases To Illegally Pull Cash From Properties Lead To 10-Year Prison Stay For One, Six Years For Another

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (District of Columbia):

• Bryan W. Talbott, 49, the president of a property management company, was sentenced [] to 10 years in prison for defrauding his clients, mortgage lenders, and the government of more than $2.8 million.

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• Along with business partner Chester D. Ransom, Jr., 45, Talbott pleaded guilty in January 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the government. [...] As part of their plea agreements, Talbott and Ransom agreed to criminal forfeiture of the proceeds of their crimes and restitution of more than $2.8 million.
  
  Ransom was sentenced in June 2012 to a six-year prison term.

Rent Skimming:

• As part of their fraudulent scheme, the defendants frequently collected rental payments from tenants but did not pay the bills for the properties, despite falsely representing to the property owners that the bills had been paid.
  
  Instead, the defendants used these funds for their own benefit. In addition, the defendants also sent forged bank statements to some of their clients, misstating the balances in their clients’ accounts. Through this fraudulent scheme, the defendants defrauded at least 54 clients out of a total of $1,269,278.

Use Of Forged Satisfactions Of Mortgages To Pocket Mortgage Proceeds:

• On June 30, 2004, Ransom purchased the property on North Portal Drive NW for $975,000, financing the purchase, in part, with two loans in the total amount of $731,250 from WMC Mortgage Corp., a mortgage lender. Ransom executed two deeds of trust on the property, granting WMC a security interest in the property.
  
  On December 29, 2005, Ransom filed with the District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds two forged Certificates of Satisfaction, purporting to release the WMC liens on the Portal property.
  
  Then, on January 13, 2006, Ransom sold the Portal property to Talbott for $1,110,000. The defendants provided copies of the forged lien releases to the settlement company. Talbott obtained a loan in the amount of $750,000 from Fremont Investment and Loan. Talbott executed a deed of trust on the property, granting Fremont a security interest in the property. Ransom received a check in the amount of $515,034 from the settlement.
  
  Less than a month later, on February 2, 2006, Ransom again “sold” the Portal property to Talbott, this time for $1,250,000, despite the fact that Talbott was already the legal owner. The defendants provided copies of the forged lien releases to the settlement company. Talbott obtained a loan of $890,000 from First National Bank of Arizona. Talbott executed a deed of trust on the property, granting First National Bank of Arizona a security interest in the property. Ransom received a check in the amount of $801,280 from the settlement.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see President of Property Management Company Sentenced To 10-Year Prison Term For Defrauding Clients, Mortgage Lenders and Government (Scheme Involved More Than $2.8 Million).