He was also sentenced for smuggling narcotics into prison while detained awaiting trial
A New Jersey mortgage modification professional has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after his fraudulent home mortgage refinancing scheme victimized 110 people, several of whom lost their homes, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced.
Daniel Sheehan was also ordered to forfeit $493,075 in criminal proceeds after pleading guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property, and smuggling narcotics into a federal prison. He was also sentenced to a term of three years’ supervised release.
Between September 2012 and February 2015, Sheehan told clients that he could help them modify their mortgages. Despite collecting a fee between $700 and $1,500 from each victim, Sheehan often failed to submit the refinance applications.
In most cases, Sheehan falsely advised his clients to stop paying their mortgages and not communicate with their bank. As a result, some clients received court foreclosure complaints, were evicted, and lost their homes.
Additionally, Sheehan falsely told some clients that their modification had been approved and advised them to make “trial payments” to finalize the modification. Despite promising to hold the payments in escrow, Sheehan converted his victims’ funds to his own personal use.
While being held in a federal prison awaiting trial, Sheehan arranged to smuggle narcotics into the facility for further distribution. While incarcerated, he arranged for a friend to illegally send him sheets of the drug Suboxone. Sheehan had intended to use the narcotics to pay off gambling debts that he owed to other inmates at the federal prison.
