BALTIMORE, MD. – United States District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced James William Fox II (40, from Crofton, MD) to 27 months in federal prison for his involvement in running a mortgage scam in Maryland and Virginia, according to LoanSafe.org.
A jury convicted Fox of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for running a mortgage scam with James Hooper Dan, 45, from Annapolis. Fox and Dan met while working as loan officers for a mortgage brokerage in Annapolis.
In 2006, Fox began to identify people who owned their homes and had built equity but were unable to meet their mortgage. Fox would promise these homeowners help, telling homeowners that refinancing would allow them to keep their homes. Fox—sometimes working with Dan, sometimes on his own—would obtain the deeds to his victim’s homes and then fraudulently apply for new loans on the homes. Often times Dan would apply for the loans and Fox would act as the loan officer.
According to the plea agreement, from April 20, 2006 through July 5, 2007, Fox and Dan obtained the deeds to 8 people’s homes in Maryland and Virginia and applied for new loans on the homes. All 8 loans eventually defaulted, and the victims were left scrambling and facing a home foreclosure. According to LoanSafe.org, Fox and Dan invested none of their own money for any of the transactions involved in their elaborate mortgage scam.
A jury has already convicted Dan for his involvement in the mortgage scam, and a judge will sentence him on February 25.
The Maryland Fraud Task Force—part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Task Force—brought this scam to attention. The task force has been helpful in identifying fraudulent mortgage schemes across the country, which often pose as legitimate businesses, such as an actual bankruptcy attorney. United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Maryland Crime Victim’s Resource Center, Inc., the FBI, HUD-OIG, the Office of Investigations as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce K. McDonald, who tried the case.
