Perpetrators pocketed the loan proceeds of elderly homeowners
A New Jersey real estate attorney has confessed to participating in a mortgage scam that defrauded several elderly homeowners.
Martin D. Eagan, 50, pleaded guilty to charges of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines.
Eagan admitted to prosecutors that between 2007 and 2010, he acted as a settlement agent and submitted fraudulent documentation to lenders to persuade them to approve and fund reverse mortgages and the refinancing of existing mortgages.
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According to the US Attorney’s Office, Eagan certified HUD-1 settlement statements that concealed the fact that the loan proceeds went straight to Eagan and his conspirator’s pockets, or to the entities they owned or controlled. The perpetrators also submitted inflated appraisals for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, a Federal Housing Administration reverse mortgage program allowing homeowners to tap into their home equity.
Eagan and his conspirators controlled the loan application process from start to finish.
They are set to be sentenced on April 14, 2022.
