Hot Scam In Maryland Hit Foreclosure Headlines

June 19th, 2008

A hot scam by a Maryland couple hit foreclosure headline news. The Feds indicted a couple from Prince Georges County for being involved in a foreclosure related scam amounting to $35 million. Donning the rescue mask they cheated lenders and borrowers alike to create the largest scam in the history of Maryland.

The pair, 40-year-old Joy Jackson and her husband 38-year-old Kurt Fordham were arrested in North Carolina on 12th June 2008 on 21 counts for money laundering and mail fraud. They hailed from Fort Washington. Six others were co-accused. They used the money to feed a lavish lifestyle punctuated with luxury cars, travel, jewellery, houses, fur coats and travel. Mention is also made of their wedding at Mayflower Hotel where the menu included lobsters, shrimp and Cristal Champagne. The wedding bill ran up to $80,000 acknowledged Jackson.

The court thinks this is a very important case – the first of its type and an eye-opener. Attorney Rosenstein elaborated that the Metropolitan Money Store, of which Jackson was the president, was the front-runner of the fraud operations. House owners facing foreclosures were targeted. Straw buyers would be set up. Owners were told that they could continue to live in the houses that were their homes to enable them to buy it back a year later. Meanwhile Metropolitan would borrow as much as possible against the equity of the unit, ensuring that the original borrowers did not have the remotest chance of getting out of the mess and buying back the house.

The case showed up the urgency of introducing legal and regulatory changes at the state level to stop repeat performances of similar cases. So far there have been many cases but none so big as this one. The secretary of Maryland Department of Labour, Licensing and Regulation described this case as a “poster child”.

The charges carry a maximum punishment of 30 years imprisonment, and $1 million fine each. The credits of the ‘straw buyers’ were falsely bolstered so that they could qualify for availing of mortgages amounting to $10,000.

One of those who had taken so-called help from Metropolitan is 63 years old Angele Reid. She bemoaned that Jackson had jeopardized Reid’s life so that she, Jackson, could lead a merry life. Bitterly she adds, “I just hope they are put away for a long time so they can’t do it to someone else.”