Press Release
BROWARD COUNTY TITLE AGENT CONVICTED ON FRAUD CHARGES
December 2, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Alex Hager, Acting Commissioner, Florida Department of Financial Regulation, announced yesterday's conviction of defendant Howard Gaines, an attorney and licensed title agent, on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. Trial on this matter began on Monday, November 17, 2008, before United States District Judge William Dimitrouleas. Gaines' conviction was the sixth conviction in this matter, following five guilty pleas by other conspirators in the case.
At sentencing, Gaines faces a maximum of up to five years' imprisonment on the conspiracy count and up to 20 years' imprisonment on each mail fraud count. Sentencing is scheduled for February 10, 2009 at 1:15 p.m. Gaines was remanded into custody by the court following the verdict.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Gaines was a licensed title agent at Your Title Choice, Inc, in Deerfield Beach. Gaines, as a title agent, aided co-conspirator Anthony Dehaney and others to close on fraudulent loans. Among the fraudulent documents presented at closings were HUD 1 Settlement Forms, which falsely represented that buyers were using their own money to close on the purchases. The evidence showed that Gaines helped Dehaney close more than $10,000,000 in loans during 2004, 2005, and 2006, including $5,000,000 in fraudulent mortgages.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the FBI agents, U.S. Postal Inspectors, and Investigators for the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation involved in the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey Kay and Jennifer Keene of the Fort Lauderdale Office.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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