Minn. Man Gets 12 Years For Mortgage Fraud Scheme
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Federal officials say a 39-year-old man was sentenced Monday to more than 12 years in prison for orchestrating a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
A judge in Minneapolis sentenced Alpha Rashidi Mshihiri, of Maple Plain, to 150 months in prison. Mshihiri has been convicted in February on counts of bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud.
The United States Attorney's Office said that between 2007 and 2009 Mshihiri, who was once a mortgage broker, defrauded money lenders of millions. He did so in a scheme involving straw buyers who'd fill out fraudulent loan applications. Mshihiri and his co-conspirators would then back up the fake applications with false documents, such as W-2s, driver's licenses and bank statements. The straw buyers would then give these to mortgage lenders to get financing.
Every property purchased through the scheme went into foreclosure, officials said. That resulted in nearly $2 million in losses for the victimized lenders.