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New York

Foreclosure scammer sentenced

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The leader of a $20 million scheme to defraud homeowners in foreclosure
proceedings was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, according to the
office of the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Maurice McDowall,
50, offered homeowners in foreclosure proceedings, mostly in Brooklyn
and the Bronx, a fraudulent plan to save their houses through sham
sales, prosecutors said. He was accused of directing the daily
operations of a group of six people in a scheme generating more than
$20 million in loans from more than 80 home mortgages between November
2003, and April 2005, prosecutors said.
He pleaded guilty
in June to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and
faced up to 30 years in prison. Of the five other defendants that were
charged in the scheme, Aleksander Lipkin, Marina Dubin and Kerri Clark
have pleaded guilty and await sentencing, while Andrea Moore and
Michael Irving are awaiting trial, set to begin October 20, prosecutors
said. McDowall was ordered to forfeit $2.5 million and perform 100
hours of community service upon his release, according to the U.S.
attorney’s office. TRD