Delray Beach loan officer sentenced in reverse mortgage scheme

A Delray Beach-based loan officer has been sentenced to 70 months in prison, five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $2 million in restitution for his role in a reverse mortgage scheme, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wifredo Ferrer. The scheme of Louis Gendason, 42, aimed to lure financially struggling, elderly homeowners to apply for reverse mortgages, create fictitious equity in their homes and ultimately steal the false equity. The three co-conspirators in the scheme have been sentenced. “The reverse mortgage loan modification scheme robbed elderly homeowners of more than just their homes,” Ferrer said. “It also robbed them of the American dream of home ownership, their peace of mind, and in some cases, their life’s savings.” -— Alexander Britell