Guilty Plea in $8M Illinois Flipping Scheme - Appraiser Involved

The Mortgage Fraud Blog has posted today that Frank Kelly Ciota, 45, Riverton, Illinois, plead guilty to one count of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud, five counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in a connection with a $8M flipping scheme in Illinois. Ciota was named in a superseding indictment last August. His co-defendants, Dennis Weise, Jr., Belleville, Illinois, a former appraiser, and Gary Knox, Decatur, Illinois are both scheduled to plead guilty on April 19, 2006. Ciota faces a maximum of 30 years in prison on the bank fraud charge and 5 years in prison on each of the wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy charges. The original indictment, handed down in July 2005, charged Knox and Weise with bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud in connection with allegations that they flipped over 150 properties in the Springfield and Decatur areas of Illinois between 1999 and 2005 that involved more than $8,000,000 in loans. Knox and Wiese were alleged to have obtained a total of more than $3,000,000 from the transactions. The superseding indictment alleged that Knox and Ciota obtained $3 million from the scheme and that Wiese was paid $350 to $450 per appraisal. According to the superseding indictment Knox and Ciota would recruit buyers with little or no experience in real estate investment – some of these buyers were relatives of Ciota. According to the indictment Knox represented himself as being in the business of buying, selling and managing real estate – both individually and dba Central Illinois Management and Development Company. Full Story and indictment details - Click here. Previous Fraud Blog Stories:

• FBI - The Rise of Mortgage Fraud And How It Impacts You
• "Flipping" - Fraud or Good Business?
• Inflated Appraisals Put Homeowners, Lenders At Risk
• Borrowers Urged To Get Independent Appraisal

Appraisal , Real Estate , Appraiser , USPAP , RESPA , Regulation , Illinois , Realtor