Mortgage Fraud - Mortgage Broker sentenced to a five-year termViktor Kobzar, a Federal Way mortgage broker, and six others were arrested in March on allegations of mortgage fraud. On Friday the leader Viktor Kobzar was sentenced to a five-year term in federal prison for his part in the $47 million mortgage fraud scheme.According to court documents, those involved used businesses as fronts to take out exorbitant loans on behalf of "straw buyers." They augmented the good credit of those buyers with falsified income documents to obtain the loans, from which they then siphoned money before attempting to resell the homes.The homes were resold to others within the conspiracy at inflated prices, with the conspirators taking the profits.At least 68 loans were secured through "straw buyers" and otherwise unqualified purchasers, representing at least $46 million in loan proceeds, based on false and fraudulent representationsKobzar obtained a $1.2 million loan for a house cleaner earning less than $20,000 annually to buy a tiny Medina home. On paper, the cleaner purchased the home from another straw buyer who'd bought the home six months earlier for $775,000.Another purchaser, a janitor who earned about $16,600 in 2006, saw his income falsely inflated to $385,000 for that year.While those behind the scheme are alleged to have provided false information to lenders, former U.S. Attorney for Seattle Jeffrey Sullivan said previously that the banks extending the loans -- chiefly Washington Mutual and ING Bank -- could have prevented the fraud by conducting "a little more due diligence."Defendants in the case are forfeiting to the government a 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo, a 2006 BMW 750, a 2007 BMW X5, a 31 foot Bayliner yacht, and several bank and investment accounts totaling approximately $2.4 million.The sentence was handed down in U.S. District Court in Seattle after Kobzar's convictions for conspiring to commit bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and filing a false personal income tax return.At Kobzar's sentencing, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said, "This is a very serious crime and many, many people were harmed."She said Kobzar and his co-defendants "bear a huge responsibility for the financial meltdown that harmed many people."Last month co-defendant Vladislav A. Baydovskiy was sentenced to five years in prison.Four other defendants in the case were sentenced in December 2009:• Camie Byron, 28, of Renton, a loan officer, was sentenced to two years in prison.• Alla Sobol, 28, of Renton, a mortgage broker, was sentenced to two years in prison.• Sobol's husband, David Sobol, 40, of Issaquah, a real estate agent, was also sentenced to two years in prison.• Sandra Thorpe, 55, of Shoreline, an accountant who falsified income statements and employment verification letters, was sentenced to probation and 200 hours of community service
Comments