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Charleston, SC Man Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Case

Mortgage Fraud Case in Charleston, SC

Mortgage fraud is a serious federal crimeFederal prosecutors charged a man from North Charleston with mortgage fraud over dozens of properties, selling for about $45 million in total. Prosecutors say there were 86 fraudulent sales, and orchestrated losses from the scheme totaled $20 million.

Scott Wickerman committed the mortgage fraud between 2006 and 2007. He was part owner of a real estate company, and a loan officer at a local mortgage company. The scheme involved misrepresenting appraisal values and forging signatures, as well as inflated income and bank account levels for buyers, and even selling vacant lots.

The mortgage fraud scheme ended when the real estate bubble burst in 2008.

Wickersham has agreed to plead guilty to one charge each of mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud. He will face up to 36 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines.

Criminal Defense Lawyers in South Carolina

The United States Code criminalizes, “any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses” involving the U.S. Mail system. Bank fraud is also a very serious crime, and involves making false statements to banks, deceiving the bank, forging check signatures, or embezzlement. The law broadly defines wire fraud as devising or intending to devise a scheme to defraud others of money or property under false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises by means of electronic communications, or “wires.”

Any one of these charges can be serious. It is also terrible if you are the victim of any of these. If you suspect you are the victim of fraud, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud, the experienced lawyers at Strom Law, LLC can help. We specialize in these types of criminal defense, so please contact us today for a free consultation. 803.252.4800.

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