Experienced Representation in Mortgage and Bank Fraud Cases

I am Solomon L. Wisenberg, a financial institution fraud defense attorney defending clients in federal bank, mortgage, and real estate fraud cases. From my offices in Washington, D.C., I have represented borrowers, bank officers, and various third-parties throughout the U.S.

I understand financial fraud cases from both sides of the bar. As a federal prosecutor, I was the chief of the bank fraud unit for one of the largest U.S. attorney’s offices in the United States. In that capacity, I personally led several savings and loan fraud investigations, and first chaired several jury trials, during the Savings & Loan Crisis of the 1990s. My most famous bank fraud case as a federal prosecutor was my two-year investigation of the Victoria Savings Association failure, which resulted in the conviction of nine defendants after an 11-week jury trial. I received the Director’s Award from Attorney General Janet Reno for my service in the Victoria Savings case.

The knowledge I gained prosecuting financial fraud cases helps me to defend clients facing exposure to federal bank, mortgage and appraisal fraud charges.

The repercussions of the current financial crisis, fueled by the 2008 mortgage meltdown, will continue to be felt in the federal courts for the next several years. The statute of limitations for mortgage fraud and bank fraud is 10 years. Those who are convicted can be sentenced to anywhere from probation to life in federal prison.

How It Happens

One of the most common kinds of financial institution fraud involves loan or mortgage application fraud. During the last decade, many bank and mortgage company officials orally encouraged individuals and businesses to misrepresent their income and other factors on mortgage applications. When these borrowers don’t make their payments, the banks review the applications, looking for misstatements of income or other misrepresentations of fact. If the banks find anything, they will often turn the case over to the feds for prosecution. In essence, the banks and mortgage lenders are trying to use the government as a collection agency, to collect on bad loans they encouraged people to take.

You can be charged in federal court for mortgage or bank fraud:

• Even if the bank or mortgage company knew you were making a false statement
• Even if bank or mortgage company employees encouraged you to misrepresent the facts
• Even if 98 percent of the information on your application was accurate
• Even if your loan application was denied

Conversely, the government also loves to prosecute bank and mortgage lending officers in the wake of major financial meltdowns, in the never-ending hunt for scapegoats. But a negligently granted loan does not equal a fraudulent loan.

The current Department of Justice has essentially refused to indict, or seriously investigate, elite actors at major banks and investment houses for any of their actions which may have led to the 2008 mortgage meltdown and subsequent financial crisis. But this does not mean that DOJ has been inactive. On the country, literally hundreds, if not thousands, of mortgage brokers, mid-level bank officers and community bankers have been charged and continue to be targeted. A thorough knowledge, practical and theoretical, of how bank fraud trials and investigations work is required in order for an attorney to competently defend these matters.

I have the experience to manage the most detailed and complex bank and mortgage fraud investigations in all their variations, including alleged house flipping schemes, equity skims, straw purchases, inflated appraisals and net worth scams.

Contact a Bank Fraud Defense Attorney

To arrange a consultation about your white collar legal issue, feel free to contact me, mortgage fraud defense lawyer Solomon L. Wisenberg, at the Washington, D.C., law offices of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP. I can be reached at: 202-689-2922 (Direct Dial) or 202-257-7846 (cell).