This just in from the Minnesota Association of Realtor’s

Department of Justice Indicts Three People on Fraud Charges

“Three people were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on mortgage related fraud charges. A Mortgage Broker and his assistant who worked with American Alliance Mortgage Company were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly bilking vulnerable homeowners. The charges include one count of conspiracy, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of engaging in a financial transaction with criminally derived property.

The indictment alleges that the duo schemed to defraud homeowners who were either in foreclosure or behind on their mortgage payments. They allegedly caused homeowners to refinance their homes and then stole some or all of the equity checks produced through the refinancing. In some cases they allegedly used physical intimidation to force homeowners to endorse equity checks over to them.