The Blotter

A former Richmond, Va., attorney was sentenced to time in prison and ordered to pay $10,000 for obstructing an official proceeding in connection with his attempts to thwart an investigation into his own fraudulent conduct as bankruptcy trustee for LandAmerica Financial Group.

A former Realtor and longtime fugitive was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for scheming to defraud distressed homeowners out of nearly $4 million by falsely promising them help with their mortgages, but instead pocketing their money, causing many victims to lose their homes.

Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed a new commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. The new commissioner will take over for Acting Commissioner Christopher Shultz.

A Raleigh, N.C., man was sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of wire fraud, and possession of a firearm by a felon. The defendant was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution to victims totaling more than $1.77 million.

New Jersey fraudsters were sentenced to prison terms for their roles in a mortgage-fraud scheme.

A former Armonk, N.Y., real estate attorney was indicted for stealing more than $3.5 million from eight clients she represented between 2017 and 2021.

CoreLogic released its latest Mortgage Fraud Report. The report showed a 37.2 percent year-over-year increase in fraud risk at the end of the second quarter of 2021, as measured by the CoreLogic Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index.

A federal district judge sent six South Florida residents and one New Jersey resident to federal prison for their roles in a fraud scheme that involved stealing identities, creating and using fake foreign passports, impersonating homeowners, and falsifying loan documents to trick lenders into providing millions of dollars of mortgage loans on unencumbered residential properties.

An Irving man pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He and others had devised a scheme that targeted financial institutions and real estate purchasers.

A Jackson, Miss., man pled guilty to a charge of retaliating against a federal employee by filing a false lien.