Attorney, Ex-Cop, 25 Others Make Fraud Blotter

A Connecticut attorney, former police officer, and 25 people accused of reaping millions from mortgage fraud all made the mortgage fraud blotter for Wednesday.

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_MReport_ sourced the stories from a number of news outlets that include the ""_Associated Press_"":http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/09/2493384/ex-cop-pleads-guilty-in-fla-mortgage.html, ""_New London Patch_"":http://newlondon.patch.com/articles/attorney-pleads-in-new-london-county-mortgage-fraud, and ""_The Sacramento Bee_"":http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/08/4037831/feds-say-sacramento-area-realty.html.

First up, an attorney from New Haven entered a guilty plea to his role as a settlement agent, whereby he helped draft materially false statements for real estate closures that he submitted to HUD, according to the _Patch_.

The news outlet reported that David Kinney pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and another count of making a false statement.

Between 2006 and 2007, he filed materially false claims and provided some with closing checks before receiving down payments, and lied about these actions to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the _Patch_.

The news outlet said that the attorney could face as much as 10 years in the slammer, and will receive sentencing February next year.

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Next in line: Joseph Guaracino, an ex-police officer from South Florida, pled guilty to mail and wire fraud conspiracy, according to the _AP_.

The news outlet said that his conviction stems from a role the ex-cop played in submitting false loan applications for properties, which he obtained and then sold or rented for a profit.

In addition to the possibility of a five-year prison sentence for Guaracino, according to the _AP_, two other law enforcement officers received convictions in association with the case.

Finally, the Wednesday fraud blotter observed the issuance of indictments for no less than 25 Sacramento residents accused by authorities of defrauding lenders by some $16 million, according to _The Bee_.

The news publication reported that the residents, many of whom come from a Russian-American community, stand accused of bilking lenders and homeowners out of nearly $1 million between 2006 and 2007.

As in many other instances of alleged and actual mortgage fraud, the defendants went through straw buyers to close transactions for properties, according to _The Bee_.

The news publication said that several of the defendants are notably associated with the founding family of a local church organization, although they themselves are not members of the church.

""This is certainly one of the biggest cases we've done in the Sacramento area,"" _The Bee_ reported U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner as saying. ""There are a lot of properties involved.""