Date: 01-01-2015

Case Style: United States of America v. Yvonne Gumaer

Case Number: 4:11-cr-00121-RAS-DDB

Judge: Richard Schell

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Plaintiff's Attorney: Andy Williams and Chris Eason

Defendant's Attorney: Jim Whalen

Description: PLANO, Texas – A 68 year-old Galveston, Texas woman has been sentenced to federal prison for federal violations related to a mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas.

Yvonne Gumaer pleaded guilty on Jan. 22, 2013 to making a false statement in connection with an FHA insured home loan and was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Richard Schell. Gumaer was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $791,782.89.

According to information presented in court, Gumaer was an escrow officer at Regency Title Company ("RTC") in Collin County. In 2008, Gumaer conspired with Larry Reisman, Kathy Moore, and others to knowingly and willfully make a materially false statement, for the purpose of influencing the FHA to insure a mortgage loan made to another person to purchase property known as the Thistle Way III Property from Reisman. Specifically, Reisman, the seller of the property, had not and would not pay or reimburse the borrower for any part of the borrower's closing costs which had not been disclosed in the sales contract, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014. This scheme resulted in losses to mortgage lenders, including The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Gumaer was indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 15, 2012.

Others who have been sentenced in connection with the mortgage fraud schemes include
Kathy Moore, 50, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $774,377.63; and Larry Reisman, 52, of Dallas, who was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.5 million.

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.

This case was investigated by HUD-Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General, U.S. Secret Service, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Outcome: See above

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: