2 Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Show Little Remorse

Allison Tussey —  October 14, 2011 — 4 Comments

Stacy Harrold, 43, was sentenced to 75 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,000 to a California man whose identity they stole as part of the scheme and pay a fine of $10,000. David Schoenhofen, 43, was sentenced to 54 months in prison and was to forfeit a rental home he owned in Edina to the county attorney’s office. The house has a value of about $250,000. The final member of the group who was found guilty of criminal racketing in the mortgage fraud case, Eric Bernard, will be sentenced Nov. 1, 2011. Prosecutors are seeking a 150 month prison sentence.

The two of the three convicted defendants in the Enzo Mortgage Group fraud case have shown little real remorse.

Nonetheless, Hennepin County District Court Judge George McGunnigle has sentenced them to substantial prison terms. McGunnigle also approved an unusual request from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office that one of them forfeit property.

Bernard and  Schoenhofen would identify properties to buy. Then Harrold, through her work as a loan officer at Enzo Mortgage, would create fraudulent documents and set up the sales to Bernard or to two California residents whose identities they had stolen.

At the closing, the three would share in fees, kickbacks of loan proceeds and payments to Bernard’s Cire Builders for work that was never done on the houses. Since there were no real buyers of the properties, most of them went into foreclosure, causing losses for the lenders.

While Harrold told the court she was “extremely sorry for any involvement I had in this situation,” she also appeared not to grasp the impact her actions, and those of others involved in mortgage crimes around the country, had on hard-working Americans.

She told McGunnigle that she was concerned about the fine because “I haven’t been able to be employed because of this and because of the mortgage downfall,” which was making it difficult for her and her husband to sell or refinance their house.

For his part, Schoenhofen‘s sentencing included rolling in the crimes that resulted from a search of his Prior Lake house. In a safe, investigators found 70 grams of marijuana, $3,400 in cash and a handgun. Schoenhofen said the gun was for protection when he collected rents from some of his rental properties and many tenants paid in cash.

Schoenhofen, too, showed only a small amount of remorse. When his attorney described Schoenhofen‘s actions as “poor judgment,” McGunnigle would have none of it.

“This was not an accident,” McGunnigle said. “This was not an error in judgment. This was a serious crime.”

Allison Tussey

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4 responses to 2 Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Show Little Remorse

  1. @Christine – David Schoenhofen was sentenced to prison. The judge expressed an opinion that he had not shown any remorse. The district attorney issued a press release that quoted the judge that sentenced him to prison. These are not opinions. This is not ‘disparagement.’ These are the facts in a criminal prosecution and sentencing.

  2. ps…this idiot blogger is in California

  3. David Schoenhofen has many section 8 properties that he has reconditioned (for example a two bedroom deemed by city blue print & changes the dining room to accommodate another 2 bedroom with makeshift walls and a standalone closet) how can section 8 allow this criminal to become a landlord and fraudulently making money by the state of MN under Jake & Ty LLC? I’m almost betting these are his kids listed as owners eitherway he’s abusing the system

    • I have known David Schoenhofen for 12 years and have worked with Jake & Ty LLC for 10 years in the field of Property Management. He and his firm have been highly professional and provide quality affordable housing. They take exceptional care of there properties and pass inspections every year. I know for a fact that they have a perfect record with Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Charities, and Section 8 but that is not the bulk of his business. Dave and his firms primary focus is with families and he has hundreds of fans as past and current tenets. You two commentators have zero knowledge of him or his business and it is a shame that you would disparage one of the good guys like him.

      Christine

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