A Portland grand jury returned a 21-count indictment charging Ryan Bonneau, 30, Portland, Oregon, Troy Martin, 40, real estate sales agent, Portland, Oregon and Leanne Booth, 48, real estate loan broker, Portland Oregon with Wire Fraud, False Statements to a Federally Insured Bank, Money Laundering, and Engaging in Prohibited Financial Transactions. In addition, Bonneau is charged with Aggravated Identity Theft, and Martin is charged with Tampering with a Witness. The charges arise from allegations that the defendants engaged in a scheme to defraud the Union Federal Bank of Indianapolis (UFB) in connection with the mortgage financing of the sale of two residential properties located in northeast Portland, Oregon.
During the time he allegedly engaged in the conduct charged in the indictment, Bonneau was on federal supervised release following a prior conviction. One of the conditions of that release, according to the indictmetn, was that he report his participation in certain types of financial transactions, including the purchase of real estate, to a probation officer.
The indictment alleges that in each of the sales, certain defendants made false representations to UFB in order to induce UFB to approve mortgage loans and wire transfer funds to title companies in the Portland area. It is further alleged that defendant Bonneau caused the submission of false and inflated appraisals to UFB in support of the mortgage applications on two properties, and when he submitted the appraisals, Bonneau caused the use of an appraiser’s name and license without the authority of the appraiser. The alleged unauthorized use of the appraiser’s name and license by Bonneau is charged as Aggravated Identity Theft.
Further, the indictment charges Money Laundering and Engaging in Prohibited Monetary Transactions in connection with the disbursements of mortgage proceeds received by the defendants from UFB, and alleges that Martin corruptly attempted to induce a title company employee not to provide certain information to investigators.
The properties are identified in the indictment as 13515 NE Marine Drive, Portland, Oregon and 13531 Marine Drive, Portland, Oregon.
Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors.