Arizona Cooling Control Plus & Golden Opportunity Investments in Scottsdale

Valley pair plead guilty to $5.3 million mortgage fraud - CBS 5 - KPHO:

'via Blog this'


Prosecutors said Mitchell held herself out to be a mortgage broker, loan officer and real estate investor. She was president of Golden Opportunity Investments in Scottsdale. Pratt operated a construction and remodeling company, Arizona Cooling Control Plus.

Both admitted that between May 2005 and February 2007, they conspired to recruit straw buyers with good credit scores to purchase residential properties for purported investment purposes. In order to qualify for mortgage financing, they had the straw buyers submit loan applications and supporting documents that misrepresented their incomes, assets, liabilities, employment status and intent to occupy the premises, prosecutors said. At the close of escrow, Mitchell and Pratt obtained a portion of the loan proceeds as "cash back" to be used for mortgage payments and for their own personal enrichment, prosecutors said. 

Mitchell and Pratt each admitted that their fraudulent scheme resulted in the purchase of at least 17 residential properties by obtaining loans from financial institutions for nearly $17 million. The residential properties were located in the Valley cities of Glendale, Scottsdale, Surprise, Goodyear and Peoria. All 17 properties went into foreclosure when neither Mitchell nor the straw buyers made the necessary mortgage payments.

The total amount of "cash back" fraudulently obtained by Mitchell and Pratt from these transactions was $2.46 million, and federal law enforcement calculates the loss to the financial institutions at approximately $5.3 million, prosecutors said.