Oct
Two Westwood Men Charged in Distressed Homeowner Initiative Sting
Two men who were managers at Westwood-based Direct Money Source (DMS) have been indicted as part of a nationwide investigation dubbed “Distressed Homeowner Initiative” by the U.S. Department of Justice. The purpose of the nationwide opeation was to target businesses that lured distressed homeowners by promising “foreclosure avoidance” but which allgedly skimmed equity from many of the same homeowners. Over 500 people have been criminally charge in 285 cases filed by the Department of Justice across the country. The DOJ identified a staggering 73,000 homeowners as victims and losses to them and to lenders (loan fraud, mortgage fraud) as exceeding $1 billion.
David Singui, 49, the owner of Direct Money Source, and Aziz Meghji, 35, a DMS manager, were arrested last month and charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, loan fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. Two other locals, Kiet Truong, 27, of Hawthorne, and Starr Smith, 31, face charges all of the same charges in the 42-count indictment except for money laundering.
Commenting on the arrests, United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. said “Shameless con artists seeking to prey on homeowners in financial distress need to know that law enforcement is hot on their trail. The results of this initiative demonstrate that the combined resources of federal, state and local authorities will be brought to the table in a concerted effort to bring fraudsters to justice and protect the nation’s homeowners.”
Read the original article in the Century City Patch and DSNews (Default Servicing News).
