PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Former Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon D. Fox, 53, of East Providence, has waived federal indictment and is expected to plead guilty in federal court to a three-count Information charging him with wire fraud, bribery and filing a false tax return. The charges stem from former Speaker Fox’s theft of $108,000 donated by campaign supporters to pay for personal expenses; his a

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Denetria Myles, 43, of Charlotte, Frank DeSimone, 42, of Charlotte, and William Brown, 35, of Matthews, N.C., were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Graham C. Mullen on federal racketeering charges, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. One additional defendant was sentenced earlier this month for his role in the scheme.

Plaintiffs filed this action seeking recovery of over
$200,000 on the general theory that defendants had secured
a series of promissory notes at exorbitant interest rates from
plaintiffs through loansharking. Over the years, plaintiffs
paid substantial sums on those notes but, despite repeated
requests from plaintiffs, defendants never gave them an
accounting of how much th

POCATELLO, ID - Michael Justin Hoopes, 41, of Rexburg, Idaho, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Hoopes pleaded guilty pre-indictment to a criminal information filed by the U.S. Attorney.

According to the plea agreement, Hoopes admitted that from 2007 through Febr

WASHINGTON, DC – MetLife Home Loans LLC has agreed to pay the United States $123.5 million to resolve allegations that MetLife Bank N.A. (MetLife Bank) violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements, the J

Appellants Eric C. Sanders and wife, Carrie L. Sanders, brought suit against American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc. (“American Home”), alleging improper debt collection practices with regard to a residential mortgage. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of American Home, and on appeal, the Sanderses contend the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of American H

In related proceedings, appellant Jay H. Cohen, Individually and as Trustee of the JHC Trusts I and II, challenges the trial court’s summary judgments granted in favor of appellees Sandcastle Homes, Inc. and NewBiss Property, LP Specifically, Cohen challenges the trial court’s conclusion that the Sandcastle and NewBiss established their status as bona-fide purchasers of certain real property i

In related proceedings, appellant Jay H. Cohen, Individually and as Trustee of the JHC Trusts I and II, challenges the trial court’s summary judgments granted in favor of appellees Sandcastle Homes, Inc. and NewBiss Property, LP Specifically, Cohen challenges the trial court’s conclusion that the Sandcastle and NewBiss established their status as bona-fide purchasers of certain real property i

St. Louis, MO – MICHAEL WALLIS was sentenced to 14 months in prison on charges related to a fraud scheme involving applications for home loans. H was also ordered to pay restitution of $904,923.

According to the facts stated in court during the plea, since at least 2007, Michael Wallis worked in the mortgage lending industry in the St. Louis area. Initially, Wallis was employed as a l

St. Louis, MO – CHARLES WILLIAMS pled guilty to defrauding investors of their funds between on or about November 1, 2007 and January 31, 2013. The 11 individuals whose funds were invested in the C.R. Williams Investment Fund, LLC, and the C.R. Williams Tax Advantaged Investment Fund, LLC reported that they provided defendant more than $753,144. By December 28, 2012, UMB Bank records revealed th

Brooklyn, NY - Frank E. Perkins, the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) of Harbor Funding Group, Inc. (“HFGI”) and Black Sand Mine, Inc. (“BSMI”), was sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn to 9 years’ imprisonment. In September 2014, Perkins pleaded guilty to two counts charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud for his role in def

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Walter Alston Brown, 47, of Providence Forge, Virginia, and Glen Allen, Virginia, and Cynthia Evette Brown, 53, of Philadelphia, PA, were each sentenced to 180 months in prison for their roles in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Walter Brown was a mortgage broker with First Horizon Home Loans, Foxworth Inc., Carteret Mortgage, and Advantage Lending and was one of

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 27 months imprisonment, followed by three years supervised release, and $270,085.46 in restitution to Cybergenetics Corporation, on her conviction of wire fraud.

United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Mary L. Schneir, 42, of Bethel Park, Pa.

Schneir

New York, NY - Allen Reichman, a former Executive Director of Investments at a New York investment firm, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to participating in a massive scheme to defraud his employer and insurance regulators in connection with the fraudulent purchase of an Oklahoma insurance company. REICHMAN pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman.

Manhattan U

FRESNO, CA — Minerva Sanchez, 48, of Fremont, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to 21 months in prison for conspiring to commit bank fraud, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Sanchez also was ordered to pay restitution to financial institutions in the amount of $421,372.

According to court documents, Sanchez was a licensed real estate agent

SACRAMENTO, CA — Ray Jan Kornfeld, 59, resident of Las Vegas, NV, was sentenced by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley to 5 years in prison for his role in a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme. Kornfeld was also ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to victims of the scheme.

According to court documents, between January 7, 2010, and August 20, 2013, Co-defendant Alan Dav

SAN JOSE, CA - Sharon Lynn Shaw pleaded guilty in federal court to bank fraud and theft by bank officer, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and U.S. Secret Service Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Marino.

In pleading guilty, Shaw, 67, of San Jose, Calif., admitted that from 2001 through 2012 that she engaged in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank while serving as a mana

Rex Smith and Nancy Smith appeal the trial court‘s judgment in favor of Kelly Davis and Amber Davis based on Texas Property Code Section 5.077. The Smiths raise fourteen issues on appeal. We affirm in part, reverse and render in part, and reverse and remand in part.
BACKGROUND
The Smiths own the Tall Oaks Estates Subdivision in Van Zandt County, Texas. In 2003, Rex Smith signed a contrac

National Lloyds Insurance Company (“Lloyds”) appeals the trial court’s judgment in favor of Latosha A. Lewis following a jury trial. In seven appellate issues, Lloyds challenges (1) the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s findings regarding causation, damages for mental anguish, breach of contract, and breach of the DTPA, and exemplary damages, (2) the trial court’s i

Madison, Wis. - Rebecca Hoff, 63, of Ironwood, Mich., was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 15 months in federal prison for filing false information in a 2008 tax return. Hoff pleaded guilty to this charge on December 2, 2014.

Hoff worked as an office manager and accounts payable bookkeeper for T.A Solberg Company, Inc. in Minocqua, Wis., during the years 2004

DES MOINES, IA - A Des Moines area attorney and real estate agent were both convicted of bank fraud after an eight-day jury trial, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Attorney Jason Springer was convicted of seven counts of bank fraud, and real estate agent Rick Makohoniuk was convicted of one count of bank fraud, in connection with a property flipping scheme. Bank fraud carri

PHOENIX, AZ – Kevin Grant Lee, 35, formerly of Mesa, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge
to 12 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in assisting his brother, Scott Thomas Lee, in committing mortgage loan origination fraud. Late last year, Judge Silver sentenced Scott Thomas Lee, 46, former owner of Summit Capital Mortgage, LLC, to 60

Wife appeals a judgment of dissolution, challenging
the trial court’s division of the parties’ property, spousal
support award to her, and determination of child support.
She contends that the property division was inequitable
because the trial court based its decision on erroneous findings
of fact and awarded husband too great a share of the
parties’ marital property

Defendant Southern California Edison Company (Edison) appeals from a judgment following a jury trial in which the jury found in favor of plaintiff Simona Wilson on her claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), negligence, and nuisance, and awarded her $1,050,000 in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages. All of her claims are based upon her allegation that Ed

Appellant, Elizabeth Chamberlain (“Mother”), appeals the trial court’s order modifying timesharing, and ordering child support and alimony. Appellee, John Douglas Eisinger (“Father”), cross-appeals on the issues relating to his child support and alimony obligations. We affirm the modification of timesharing; reverse the calculation of the Mother’s child support arrears and remand for f