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- Feb 3, 2010 – Nigerian, Oshosanya pleads guilty to $.4Mmortgage fraud ... Investigator said that Campbell falsified documents in order to ... According to the plea agreement, Oshosanya who is also known as Olu Campbell said he was ...
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2009-12-29/news/bal-md.fraud29dec29_1_mortgage-asset-research-institute-mortgage-fraud-scheme-jury-indicts
U.S. jury indicts 2 in mortgage fraud scheme
Laurel, College Park men accused of using Baltimore properties in swindle
A federal grand jury indicted two Maryland residents, one of whom is in the country under asylum, on a dozen counts of wire fraud and identity theft this month in connection with a 2008 scheme that used Baltimore properties to swindle a Beltsville lender out of more than $664,000, authorities say.
Cameroon native Dema Daiga, who lives in College Park, and Oluseun Oshosanya, who lives in Laurel, appeared separately Monday in U.S. District Court. Bond was set at $2 million for Daiga, who came to the country under asylum and is charged with committing the bulk of the scheme. A detention hearing was scheduled for Wednesday for Oshosanya, who is charged with six of the 12 counts his co-defendant faces.
Neither man has yet been arraigned on the charges.
They're among more than 50 people criminally charged in Maryland this year with mortgage fraud offenses, according to U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, who helped form the state's Mortgage Fraud Task Force in February. The partnership among state, local and federal authorities focuses on fighting the fraud that ballooned during the past few years as the housing and real estate markets went into meltdown.
Maryland leaped to fifth place in the nation - from 15th - for reported fraud incidents last year, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. The institute's research, based on data submitted by mortgage lenders, bankers and insurers, shows that most of Maryland's mortgage fraud episodes deal with falsifying loan application information, which Daiga and Oshosanya are charged with.
According to the indictment against them - returned Dec. 2 and unsealed after their arrests Dec. 23 - the defendants recruited unqualified "straw" buyers to apply for mortgages from Landmark Funding LLC in Beltsville, using false information about their assets and earnings.
They kept much of the loan funds, and bought six West Baltimore properties, most of which quickly went into default beginning in January of this year, according to the indictment, which claims the scheme was put in place over a five-month period in late 2008. A seventh property purchase, attempted in December 2008, was thwarted by the Beltsville company, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jefferson Gray told the court.
Gray had asked that Daiga, 28, be held without bail, calling him a flight risk, but U.S. Magistrate Judge James K. Bredar appeared to believe that the defendant wasn't likely to return to Cameroon, which has recently undergone significant civil unrest. Bredar ruled that Daiga could stay with his sister in Laurel under electronic home monitoring. He must also put up 10 percent of the $2 million bond in cash or through lien-free real estate. Daiga is being detained until he can show that he can meet the requirements.
Oshosanya, who also goes by the name Olu Campbell, made his initial appearance Monday. The 28-year-old is not charged with either of the two identity theft counts. Gray also asked that Oshosanya be held without bail, saying he's a flight risk; Oshosanya has dual citizenship with Nigeria. A detention hearing has been set for Wednesday.
If convicted, both defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine on each of the wire fraud counts. Daiga also faces two aggravated identity theft counts, which carry minimum mandatory sentences of two years.
| Employers / Business Afilliations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Olu Campbell  | Severn, MD | Officesphere |
3. | Metropolitan Housing Associates Llc | Available | Laurel, MD | Adedayo Idowu (CONTACT) |
|
| Associated Businesses | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Metropolitan Housing And General Contracting Llc | Available | Laurel, MD | Olu Campbell (CONTACT) |
|
3. | Olu Campbell | Laurel, MD | Metropolitan Housing And General Contracting Llc |
| Washington, DC | Oluseun Oshosanya (CONTACT) |
|
Omimy Auto Sales Inc
(301) 604-2352
9636 Canterbury Riding
Laurel, MD 20723
9636 Canterbury Riding
Laurel, MD 20723
| ess Afilliations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Oluseun Oshosanya | Available | Washington, DC | Omimy Auto Sales Inc |
Two Maryland Men Convicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Used Straw Purchasers and the Stolen Identifiers of Four Other Individuals to Purchase Six Baltimore Properties; Five Went Quickly Into Default
| U.S. Attorney’s OfficeJune 11, 2010 |
BALTIMORE—A federal jury has convicted Dema Daiga, age 28, of College Park, Maryland, and Olu Campbell, formerly known as Oluseun Oshosanya, age 29, of Laurel, Maryland, of numerous counts of wire fraud arising from a scheme to defraud a mortgage lending company in connection with six Baltimore properties. Daiga was also convicted of two counts of aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme. The verdict was returned late yesterday.
The verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Barbara Golden of the U.S. Secret Service - Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Ken Taylor of the Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General - Office of Investigations; and Commissioner of Financial Regulation Sarah Bloom Raskin of the Maryland State Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
According to testimony offered during the two week trial, Daiga worked as a mortgage loan broker and assisted with property appraisals and Campbell also worked in the mortgage lending field. Witnesses testified that from August to December 16, 2008, Daiga and Campbell recruited two straw purchasers and used the names and identifying information of four other individuals, without their knowledge or permission to apply for mortgages on six separate properties. The straw purchasers lacked the income and assets to qualify as borrowers or make the monthly mortgage payments. Evidence showed that the defendants: filled out mortgage loan applications on behalf of the straw purchasers and the other individuals whose names and information they used without their knowledge, with false information about those persons’ employment histories, earnings, and assets; provided telephone numbers that were under the control of the defendants to any person calling to confirm the false information regarding the employment and earnings; generated fake monthly bank account statements to make it appear that the individuals had sufficient assets to make the down payments, when instead, Daiga or Campbell paid the down payments; on at least two occasions caused appraisals to be performed that inflated the property values; and instructed the title companies to send a substantial part of the loan proceeds to the defendants, or to businesses that they controlled.
According to trial evidence, five of six Baltimore properties purchased under this scheme swiftly went into default, resulting in a loss to a Beltsville mortgage lending company of approximately $664,493.
Daiga and Campbell face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the 10 and six counts of wire fraud, respectively, of which they were convicted. Daiga also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft, in addition to any sentence imposed for the wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Marvin C. Garbis has scheduled sentencing for August 27, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. for Daiga and at 10:30 a.m. for Campbell.
The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate mortgage fraud and promote the early detection, identification, prevention, and prosecution of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, which was referred to the Task Force by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and promote the integrity of the credit markets. Information about mortgage fraud prosecutions is availablehttp://www.justice.gov/usao/md/Mortgage-Fraud/index.html.
This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Jefferson M. Gray and Sujit Raman, who are prosecuting the case.
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