Randall B. Causey, Gary, Indiana, is set to begin trial in U.S. District Court in Hammond, Indiana, on January 23, 2012.  Causey had agreed to plead guilty in October 2011, but then withdrew his plea less than a month later.

As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, Causey, as well as Sheila Chandler, 51, Schererville, Indiana, and Gordon B. Rainey, 48, Merrillville, Indiana, were charged by indictment with 2 counts of wire fraud resulting from the 2006 sale of two properties located in Gary, Indiana. The indictment alleged that Chandler, Rainey and Causey engaged in a scheme to defraud and obtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses.

According to the indictment, Chandler, a loan officer, recruited sellers and submitted false loan applications on behalf of buyers which contained false wage and income information and false claims regarding down payment/earnest money. Rainey and Causey, in turn, recruited buyers by describing the properties as solid investments and telling the buyers they would receive cash back after the closings. Meanwhile, Rainey and Causey, on behalf of Netlink Construction Investment Group, Inc., received large payments - sometimes as high as 60% of a property's sale price - at the property closings based upon false invoices for repairs to the property, most or all of which were never actually performed.

In March 2011, Chandler agreed to plead guilty. No sentencing date has been set.

In September 2011, Rainey also agree to plead guilty.  He is set to be sentenced on April 6, 2012.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Trumbull-Harris.