Fed indicts 17 in $75 million Charlotte mortgage fraud scheme www.privateofficer.com

CHARLOTTE, NC Oct 26 2012

17 people were charged in a major mortgage fraud investigation made public by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Wednesday afternoon.

The charges include racketeering, investment fraud, mortgage fraud, bank bribery and money laundering.

It’s the latest round of charges resulting from Operation Wax House, a mortgage fraud scheme that stole more than $75 million from investors and mortgage lenders.

The federal racketeering indictment was returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte on July 26, but remained sealed until Wednesday.

The indictment alleges that the 17 defendants and others were part of a criminal organization, known as the Enterprise, that operated principally in the cities of Charlotte and Waxhaw, and stole more than $75 million from investors and mortgage lenders.

The indictment was unsealed following the arrests this week of 11 members of the Enterprise, including three of its leaders, James Tyson, Jr., his mother, Carrie Tyson, and Victoria Hunt. James Tyson Jr. was arrested on Sunday, October 21st at Washington Dulles InternationalAirport upon arrival in the United States from a flight originating in Dakar, Senegal, which is Tyson’s last known residence.

The Enterprise, which operated from about 2005 through the present, engaged in an extensive pattern of racketeering activities, consisting of investment fraud, mortgage fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and distribution of illegal drugs.

Members of the Enterprise also bribed bank officials and committed perjury before the Grand Jury. The co-conspirators targeted professional athletes and doctors as well as their personal and professional acquaintances and convinced them to invest in a series of sham corporations controlled by the Enterprise.

The co-conspirators stole over $27 million from more than 50 investor victims, including monies that the investor victims were induced to obtain as loans from financial institutions. Rather than investing victims’ money as promised, the Enterprise diverted victims’ money to finance its mortgage fraud operations and to support its members’ lifestyles. For example, members of the Enterprise used the stolen money to purchase luxury vehicles, take lavish vacations, organize extravagant dinners and parties, and invest in other sham businesses or investments. In addition, the conspirators made Ponzi-style payments to other victims.

The Enterprise’s mortgage fraud operations involved acquiring luxury homes in neighborhoods inSouth Charlotte and Waxhaw. One member of the Enterprise would agree with a builder to purchase a property at the “true price.” The Enterprise would then arrange for a buyer to purchase the property at an inflated price.

In most circumstances, the buyer would agree to purchase the property in his or her own name and sign whatever documents were necessary, in exchange for a hidden kickback. The builder would sell the property at the inflated price, the lender would make a mortgage loan on the basis of that inflated price, and the difference between the inflated price and the true price would be extracted at closing by the Enterprise.

The 17 defendants charged in Wednesday’s indictment and the 14 defendants who have agreed to plead guilty bring to a total of 81 the number of defendants charged in connection with “Operation Wax House” to date. (A complete list of all 81 defendants is attached). Charged in the indictment are:

Ramin Amini, 44, of Tehran, Iran, is charged with racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Leader and promoter in the scheme. Status: Fugitive.

• Vonetta Tyson Barnes, 38, of Wahiawa, Hawaii, is charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Promoter. Status: Released following arrest and initial appearance.

• Travis Bumpers, 36, of Charlotte, is charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors, bank bribery and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Promoter. Status: Fugitive.

• Glynn Hubbard, 35, of Charlotte is charged with Racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Promoter. Status: In federal custody, pending release on conditions, following arrest and initial appearance.

• Victoria Hunt, 36, of Charlotte, is charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors and money laundering. Role: Leader and promoter. Status: Currently in federal custody pending detention hearing.

• Toby Hunter, 37, of Fort Mill, S.C., is charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors and money laundering. Role: Promoter. Status: Released following arrest and initial appearance.

• Steven Jones, 44, of Waxhaw, is charged with securities fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Promoter. Status: Currently in federal custody pending detention hearing.

• John McDowell, 40, of Dunn, N.C., is charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors and money laundering. Role: Promoter. Status: Arrest warrant issued.

• Kurosh Mehr, 52, of Charlotte is charged with racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud and money laundering. Role: Promoter and buyer. Status: Currently in federal custody pending detention hearing.

• Ann Tyson Mitchell, 61, of Charlotte, is charged with racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud and money laundering. Role: Facilitator. Status: Released following arrest and initial appearance.

• John Wayne Perry, Jr., 31, of Charlotte, is charged with racketeering conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Promoter. Status: Released following arrest and initial appearance.

• Donte Thorogood, 34, of Durham, N.C., is charged with racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud and money laundering. Role: Promoter. Status: To appear for an initial appearance pursuant to a summons.

• Carrie Tyson, 58, of Winterville, N.C., is charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors and money laundering. Role: Leader and promoter. Status: Released following arrest and initial appearance.

• James Tyson, Jr., 32, of Dakar, Senegal, is charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors, bank bribery and money laundering. Role: Leader and promoter. Status: Currently in federal custody pending detention hearing.

• James Tyson, Sr., 61, of Charlotte, N.C., is charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud to defraud investors and money laundering. Role: Promoter. Status: Currently in federal custody pending detention hearing.

• Nathan Shane Wolf, 41, of Charlotte, is charged with racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud and money laundering. Role: Real estate agent. Status: To appear for an initial appearance pursuant to a summons.

• Purnell Wood, 41, of Palmyra, N.J., is charged with racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud and money laundering. Role: Promoter. Status: Arrest warrant issued.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also filed criminal bills of information and plea agreements against 14 other defendants who acted as mortgage brokers, real estate agents, straw buyers, and a home builder in the scheme. They acknowledge taking part in the mortgage fraud conspiracy and have agreed to plead guilty. They are:

• Crystal Goodson-Hudson, 44, of Kannapolis, N.C., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Mortgage broker. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Shannon Lee (Somer Bey), 47, of Charlotte, is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Real estate agent. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Robert Mahaney, 52, of Ridgeway, S.C., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Mortgage broker. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• George Moore, 44, of Charlotte, is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy. Role: Buyer. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Kevin Smith, 46, of Oxford, N.C., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy. Role: Buyer. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Holly Pasut, 56, of Charlotte, is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Real estate agent. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Danielle Vaughn, 34, of Greenbelt, Md., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Mortgage broker. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Mary Vaughn, 58, of Charlotte, is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy. Role: Buyer. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Jamaine Wallace, 41, of Conyers, Ga., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy. Role: Buyer. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Phillip Wellington, 46, of Charlotte, is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Promoter. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• William Wellington, 30, of Amityville, N.Y., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy. Role: Buyer. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Marcia Williams, 36, of York, S.C., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Mortgage broker. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Sean Williams, 41, of Orangeburg, S.C., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Role: Mortgage broker. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

• Mark, Wittig, 41, of Matthews, N.C., is charged with mortgage fraud conspiracy. Role: Builder. Status: To appear for initial appearance upon a summons.

Source-WBTV

Sandhills Ambulance Service ambulance driver charged in death of partner www.privateofficer.com

Monroe NC Sept 29 2012 As an emergency medical technician was laid to rest Thursday, police announced that the woman’s coworker has been charged in the wreck that killed her on U.S. 74 in Monroe.

Belinda “Gale” Rivers, an EMT with the S.C.-based Sandhills Ambulance Service, was riding in the passenger seat of an ambulance Tuesday morning near Carolinas Medical Center-Union when the ambulance and a tractor-trailer collided.

Monroe police say the ambulance’s driver, Jonathan Cory Brown of Cheraw, S.C., is charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle.

The crash happened around 11 a.m. at U.S. 74 and Venus Street. Police said that evidence and witness accounts of the wreck revealed that Brown, also an EMT, ran a red light when he entered the intersection before the collision.

Rivers died at the scene.

Paramedics took Brown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. The extent of his injuries is unclear, but he was expected to recover. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt.

Brown and Rivers had just dropped off a patient at the hospital and were returning to South Carolina, according to reports. No patients were in the ambulance at the time of the crash.

Rivers’ funeral service was held Thursday afternoon at a church in Ruby, S.C. Vehicles from several fire departments lined the route from the funeral home to the church in tribute to Rivers.

Rivers’ obituary says she graduated from Chesterfield High School and was a member of the Cheraw (S.C.) Rescue Squad. She is survived by several relatives, including her husband, son and granddaughter.

“Gale enjoyed dancing, fishing, making pocketbooks and drinking Pepsi,” her obituary says. “She was an avid Gamecock fan. Gale was a ‘people person’ who spent her life serving and helping others.”

Her family requested that memorials in Rivers’ name be made to the Cheraw Rescue Squad,P.O. Box 28, Cheraw, SC 29520 or the Chesterfield Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 147, Chesterfield,SC 29709

Source:www.charlotteobserver.com

Police capture two men wanted in NC armored car robbery www.privateofficer.com

 

CANTON, N.C. Nov 14 2011– Authorities quickly nabbed one of the suspects wanted in armored car robbery in Canton NC and police were also able to arrest a second South Carolina man.
Both men have been charged with the robbery of two armored car guards in North Carolina early Friday.

Authorities say 23-year-old Alex Stephen Loftis of Greenville, S.C., has been charged in connection with the robbery Thursday at an automated teller machine in Canton, N.C.
38-year-old Jerry Bogan of Anderson, S.C. was captured just hours after the robbery.

Canton Police Chief Brian Whitner says the charges against men include conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Four charged in SC lynching death www.privateofficer.com

INDIAN LAND, S.C. Dec 27 2009 — A Charlotte man has died in what Lancaster, S.C., sheriff’s deputies are calling a lynch-mob attack on Christmas night.

Deputies said Ronnie Gene Wallace, 42, died after being attacked and beaten with sticks and 2-by-4 boards on Silver Mine Road in Indian Land.

Four Indian Land men — some of whom neighbors say were distant cousins of the victim — have been arrested and charged with first-degree lynching.

“Nobody deserves to die like that, nobody does. It’s awful,” said a neighbor who asked us not to use her name.

She said she saw shadows in the dirt and gravel road in front of her house around 10 p.m. Friday.

“Then I heard a lot of yelling, a lot of screaming, and I went in, got my phone, called 911, came back out, and saw him hit him in the head with a 2-by-4,” the woman said.

The neighbor couldn’t tell who was holding the 2-by-4 but she knew the victim was Wallace. She had known him since their childhood in Pineville.

She saw Wallace’s brother, Tommy, running up the road and then saw him kneel by his brother’s side.

She said the Wallace brothers lived a few doors down from the where the suspects were gathered that day, and the two households had been fighting all day.

“The Wallace boys had been calling down, harassing the Steens most of the afternoon, and it just kind of escalated from there,” she said.

Deputies came out earlier in the afternoon, but after they left the Wallaces returned to the Steens’ home across the street, she said. She said the Wallaces returned home, but men came after them and the two groups clashed in the street.

Ronnie Wallace stumbled to a neighbor’s yard and collapsed.

Deputies arrested four men Saturday for the attack. Steven Ray Steen, 22; Marty Player, 24; Evan Starck, 28; and Shawn Starck, 33; are all being held in the Lancaster County Detention Center with no bond.

Steen lives in the house near where the attack took place.

First-degree lynching in South Carolina is defined as an attack by a mob, which results in a death. It does not necessarily include hanging or racially-motivated hate crimes, as commonly thought.

It is punishable by death, but a judge can also sentence those convicted of lynching to five to 40 years in prison.

Tommy Wallace declined to talk about the incident Saturday when contacted at the home he shared with his twin brother, but his face was bruised from the fight.

The neighbor who witnessed it all said the melee has put the neighborhood on edge. “There’s a sense of, ‘How can this happen in our neighborhood with all of our kids out?’ You know, my kids are in the house today.”

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Aiken S.C. teacher arrested for rape of 14 year old boy www.privateofficer.com

AIKEN CTY, S.C.Oct 22 2009—An Aiken County woman has been arrested on four counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and four counts of lewd acts.
Tammy Joy Key, a former teacher at Leavelle McCampbell Middle School, was arrested by Aiken County deputies. The sheriff’s office says the alleged incidents occurred between August 2005 and March 2006 and involved a 14-year-old male victim.
Some incidents allegedly occurred at her Graniteville home and others at her place of work at the time, Leavelle McCampbell Middle School.
Key is being held at the Aiken County Detention Center.

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SC man charged with fondling himself at Belk’s www.privateofficer.com

UNION, S.C. June 21 2009 — A man is facing charges after he was caught on camera following a woman in a store and then exposing and fondling himself, according to police.
A security guard at the Belk store in Union was watching the video from surveillance cameras and noticed the man walking back and forth between menswear and intimate apparel. The guard said the man was following a woman around the store, watching everything she was doing.
The guard said the camera recorded the man dropping his pants, fondling himself and then pulling his pants back up. The woman didn’t see what the man was doing because he was behind a clothing rack.
The guard called police, who arrested the man. At the scene, the man said his name was John Paul, and he said he was 17 years old, from Arizona and had never been in trouble before.
Once at the jail, police said that he gave the guard his real name, Bobby Ray Taylor III, but said he was from Virginia. He told the jail guard that he had lied to the officer.
Police said Taylor, 19, is from Union and he has previously been held at the Union jail.
Taylor is charged with disorderly conduct and giving false info to an officer. He wasn’t charged with indecent exposure because no one in the store saw him expose himself.

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Woman charged with forging fake notes for students www.privateofficer.com

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. June 13 2009
Students have been known to try to fake a doctor’s note to get out of school.

A South Carolina woman has now been arrested and accused of writing fake doctor’s notes for four students.
The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported Wednesday that 45-year-old Naomi Antoinette Aranda was charged with forgery. Horry County police said she wrote notes for four students at Socastee High School, including her own child.
Police said the fake documents were created using business cards and forms and were faxed to the school with fake signatures.
Aranda was being held in the Horry County jail. It was unclear if she had an attorney.

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