Martin Pleaded Guilty to 21 Felony Mortgage Fraud-Related Charges
CLEVELAND, OH – January 19, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — County Prosecutor Bill Mason and the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force operating under authorization of Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Ohio’s Organized Crime Investigations Commission announced that Jeffrey St. Martin was sentenced to six years in prison. He was ordered to pay $3,089,750 in restitution and $30,000 in forfeiture.
Jeffrey St. Martin, 38, of Chicago, was the main defendant in a criminal enterprise that purchased 21 houses in Cuyahoga County with fraudulent loans totaling 3.1 million dollars. The 21 houses were located in eight communities: Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, Cleveland, Garfield Heights, East Cleveland, University Heights, Euclid, and Solon. The criminal enterprise entailed the same schemes to deceive lenders: loan application fraud, down-payment scheme, and kickbacks to defendants upon closing the sale of the house. St. Martin orchestrated this fraud by associating himself with various companies that submitted fraudulent loans. St. Martin acted as a loan officer and obtained fraudulent loans from lenders. He received kickbacks at the closing of the houses. On October 20, 2010, St. Martin pleaded guilty to 21 felony charges: 1 count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, 1 count of money laundering, 5 counts of theft by deception, 12 counts of tampering with records, and 2 counts of mortgage broker registration.
Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, operating under authorization of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Ohio’s Organized Crime Investigations Commission, conducted the investigation. The director of the Task Force is a Cuyahoga County Sheriff Sergeant. HUD Inspector General’s Office and County Prosecutor’s Office were lead investigative agencies on the case.
