Raymond Barrineau, 58, Hanahan, South Carolina, was charged in a 4-count Indictment with bank fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344. The indictment alleges that Barrineau, a mortgage broker, obtained access to construction loan proceeds being held in an attorney trust account by agreeing to monitor construction and disburse the funds to complete construction. Instead, Barrineau released the funds on at least three loans to himself for personal use. Barrineau embezzled more than $70,000 from Branch Banking and Trust from December 2003 through April 2004.
The maximum penalty that Barrineau could receive is a fine of $1,000,000 and/or imprisonment of 30 years. The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Rhett DeHart of the Charleston office for prosecution.
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.