Two Nevada men face mortgage fraud charges

Two men were indicted on Thursday in federal court on charges of bank fraud related to a real estate scheme, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Steve Myhre for the District of Nevada.

 

If convicted, Dustin Lewis of Henderson, Nev., and Brian Sorensen of Las Vegas each face a maximum 30-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $1,000,000. The two were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud.

 

The indictment alleges that Lewis and Sorensen conspired with each other to defraud OneWest Bank from about Aug. 15, 2011, to about Jan. 17, 2014. The men allegedly came up with a scheme to prevent a foreclosure so that Lewis could remain the owner of 5,331-square foot, five-bedroom home in Henderson.

 

Under the scheme, Lewis is claimed to have submitted a fraudulent short-sale application to the bank. This led OneWest to allow him to sell the home to Sorensen’s family member for an amount much less than the balance of the existing mortgage loan. It was further alleged in the indictment that Lewis did not disclose that there was an agreement that he would continue living at the property and that it would be later sold back to him, this time without the mortgage loan. The indictment claims that Lewis listed the property for sale on or about July 21, 2017, with a $1,195,000 price.