Matthew Voss misappropriated money obtained to fund mortgage loans
The former COO of Long Island, N.Y.-based mortgage lender Vanguard Funding has been sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment for his role in a scheme to embezzle more than $8.9 million from the company, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Matthew Voss was also sentenced by US District Judge Sandra Feuerstein to three years’ supervised release following the prison term. The amount of restitution will be ordered by the court at a later date.
The sentence follows Voss’ guilty plea in February to conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud in connection with the diversion of warehouse loans that Vanguard had fraudulently obtained purportedly to fund home mortgages and mortgage refinancing.
Between August 2015 and March 2017, Voss and his co-conspirators obtained short-term loans by falsely representing that the proceeds would fund or refinance specific mortgages for Vanguard clients. Instead, they diverted the funds to pay personal expenses and compensation and to pay off loans they had previously obtained through false loan applications.
“With today’s sentence, Matthew Voss has been held accountable for using his extensive knowledge of the mortgage industry to deceive banks that trusted and relied upon him as a business partner and divert money for his personal use,” US Attorney Richard Donoghue said. “This office, together with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously investigate and prosecute those who commit fraud to advance their own financial interests at the expense of businesses and residents of our community.”
