David Fein, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Maurizio Lancia, 48, of Trumbull, Conn., was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred Covello in Hartford to 27 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release for his role in a southeastern Connecticut mortgage fraud scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Lancia conducted a law practice under the name of the Law Office of Maurizio D. Lancia, and also was a licensed mortgage broker, controlling and operating Royal Financial Services, LLC. From approximately 2004 to 2007, Lancia, Jose Guzman, William Athan, Stacey Petro and others used this and other mortgage brokerage companies, as well as property management and home improvement companies, to arrange for individuals to purchase real estate, primarily residential housing properties located in New London Country, by obtaining funding from various mortgage companies and mortgage originators after submitting false information on the borrowers’ mortgage loan applications. The fraudulent information included information regarding income, assets, employment, rent history, as well as the borrowers’ intention to make the properties their primary residence. The borrowers, who typically were individuals who had good credit but were of modest means with low levels of income, were compensated for participating in the scheme.
In 2004, Lancia, Guzman and Athan purchased a property in New London and formed Broad Street Investment Group for the purpose of buying and selling properties. Both Royal Financial Services LLC and First Source Mortgage Solutions Inc. operated out of 349-351 Broad Street. Guzman worked as a loan officer at both Royal Financial Services and First Source Mortgage Solutions, arranging for individuals to obtain funding from various mortgage companies to fund mortgages of houses.
Lancia acted as a mortgage broker and closing agent in connection with fraudulent real estate transactions. As a mortgage broker, he secured a number of mortgages through Royal Financial Services based on materially false information, and as an attorney, he represented the seller on a number of the fraudulent transactions. For many of the fraudulent transactions, he acted as both the mortgage attorney and as the seller’s attorney.
Lancia earned nearly $100,000 in fees and commissions during the course of the scheme.
According to previously filed court documents, the government believes that more than 200 fraudulent mortgages were funded through this mortgage fraud scheme. Many of the properties have been foreclosed on and lenders have suffered losses of more than $3.6 million.
On Oct.18, 2011, Lancia pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud stemming from the scheme.
Sixteen individuals have pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from this scheme. Guzman, Athan, Petro and several others have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael McGarry and David Huang.