The Discerning Texan

All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke

Friday, August 17, 2007

Islamists Caught Cashing in on Subprime Mortgage Fraud?

Michelle Malkin has connected some highly interesting dots out in Stockton, CA:

Varifrank highlights a mortgage fraud story with national security implications:

What began with an identity theft investigation eventually led the FBI to an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving subprime lenders and dozens of homes in Stockton.

The FBI says Iftikhar Ahmad, 36, made millions by buying and selling more than 100 houses over the past eleven years.

According to a complaint and supporting affidavit filed in federal court, many of the transactions involved a quick turnaround with a dramatic price increase.

One example is the sale of a house at 2228 E. Stadium Drive by Ahmad for $330,000 in March 2006 to one of his three brothers. Ahmad purchased the property just 18 months earlier for $99,000.

In another series of transactions, a house appreciated in value more than tenfold over an eight-year period.

Ahmad purchased the home at 327 N. Pilgrim Street in 1997 for $22,000. Investigators say Ahmad bought and sold the same property twice before ultimately selling it a third time in 2005 for $236,000.

Many of the mortgages came from subprime lenders and in some cases the buyers used stolen identities, according to the FBI.
Ahmad also faces money-laundering charges. Here’s the eyebrow-raiser:

Investigators have been unable to determine the exact losses to lenders, but said bank statements from just one three-year period showed Ahmad deposited $8.6 million from escrow closings.

The FBI believes Ahmad sent at least $484,000 of the money to his native Pakistan.

Federal agents searched Ahmad’s home on Barbados Circle in Stockton and the office of the El Camino Motel on East Mariposa Road, owned by his family.

Investigators believe at least 14 people engaged in the scheme, although the complaint names just two other alleged participants.
More: “According to the court documents, the FBI suspects a number of real estate professionals of possible complicity in the scheme. Among those questioned or investigated by the FBI are a mortgage broker, loan officer, escrow officer, notary, and two appraisers.”