Neil O’Rourke, 40, Apex, North Carolina was charged in a federal bill of information filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina with one count alleging conspiracy to commit violations of federal law including making a false statement and application in relation to a loan, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and securities fraud. O’Rourke has agreed to plead guilty to the charge pursuant to a plea agreement with the government. A date has not yet been set for O’Rourke‘s sentencing.
The charge against O’Rourke arises out of a conspiracy in which he participated and which took place from in or about 2002 through about May 2007 involving the purported “Village of Penland” project. The bill of information filed against Neil O’Rourke alleges that Peerless Real Estate Services was the lead entity among a network of numerous entities operating primarily in the western portion of North Carolina.
According to the bill of information O’Rourke joined the conspiracy in 2004 and, at various times, O’Rourke held the titles of President and Vice-President of Peerless. The bill of information lists numerous activities which were part of the conspiracy that constitute both investment fraud and mortgage fraud. The bill of information charges among other things, that the investment fraud scheme was carried out in “Ponzi” scheme fashion, where new investor funds in “Village of Penland” were diverted to make mortgage payments for other investors.
The bill of information charging Neil O’Rourke also alleges that the Peerless conspirators caused investors in the “Village of Penland” to obtain fraudulent mortgage loan proceeds to invest by making false and fraudulent representations in and omitting material facts from the loan packages and HUD-1 Settlement Statements associated with the mortgage loans.
I suppose that desperation makes them not ratify whose doing the mortgages for them