Christopher Rakel, 29, St. Louis County, Missouri, has been sentenced to a term of 2 years probation, this term maybe terminated after 1 year if the defendant has complied with all conditions of probation.
As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, Rakel pled guilty to fraud charges involving a far-ranging scheme to defraud banks and other mortgage lenders.
Rakel, a mortgage broker with Tri-State Mortgage, facilitated the purchase of dozens of fraudulent real estate transactions, primarily in South St. Louis, Missouri, during 2005 and 2006. Rakel prepared fraudulent loan applications and other documents to assist buyers in obtaining millions of dollars in financing they could not otherwise obtain. The mortgage fraud scheme involved dozens of properties, and a number of co-conspirators, including investors, mortgage brokers and appraisers.
Rakel pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit bank, wire and mail fraud, and one felony count of money laundering. He appeared before United States District Judge Charles A. Shaw.
Rakel faced a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $500,000. The government also sought restitution for the lenders victimized by the scheme.
“Misconduct like this only makes things worse for the troubled housing industry,” said Hanaway. “Federal law enforcement has responded to the crisis by stepping up fraud enforcement and emphasizing the prosecution of criminal misconduct and, hopefully, the aggressive collection of restitution for victims.”
I am so glad to hear about the times that people who are involved in real estate fraud get caught. It is a nice change to see the ones who are hurting other people get the penalty they deserve.
Millions of dollars in fraudulent loans and ZERO jail time???? No wonder mortgage fraud is so rampant. Another worthless judge on the bench!
2 years probation. Youv’e got to be kidding me. This guy stole more money with a pen and paper than any bank robber. Beam me up Scotty.
2 years probation is really too much punishment for a broker. The Feds are finally understanding that the “street level” players were only puns for the major lenders and Wall Street investors. I believe that the Feds are changing directions and are now targeting the major players. If they get enough small guys to sing, they will get the RIGHT ONES! This federal judge just might be best ever in his district. It took b_lls to make the right call on the one. I pray that God will continue to lead and guide him in his court.
whooper, may God bless you during your illness, I pray God will restore your brain function as quickly as possible.
Issues are that the investigators are still looking at pre-2006, pre-2005 cases. True, many of these cases need to be investigated. But the real issues and recent forclosure crisis is caused in majority by loans that were written in the past 24 months. The loans written previous to that that are in default are the sub prime 2/28 type adjustable, and the majority of these loans were written per guidelines from the investors.
I have a problem similar to this. Me and my wife were checking into a refinance when I got pulled out of town for work. She persued the matter and was talking to someone from St. Louis Financial LLC out of West Port in St. Louis. When it came time to close on the deal, they told my wife that they would send the paper work to me and have me review and sign. At the last minute they had a traveling notary bring paper work to my home and told my wife to sign my name that this was ok and they had done this before. when I had returned home and reviewed the contract and saw that we were being taken. I have raised all kinds of hell about it. my attourney sais I have to repay the loan even though the contract is no good. I will have to go after the mortgage broker for the fraud. If any body has had a similar problem like this and is looking for some answers. Please feel free to contact me at brian-marie@sbcglobal.net