Business Crimes Hotline

CONNECTICUT

Attorney Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A West Hartford, CT, lawyer who took part in a $3.5 million mortgage fraud scheme has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, according to federal prosecutors.

Gabriel R. “Gabe” Serrano was sentenced May 8 by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson. Serrano had previously pleaded guilty last August to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud, a charge that carries a maximum prison term of 30 years, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 10 years. His law license has been suspended since late 2013.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut, from June 2005 to at least November 2008, Serrano was involved in a conspiracy that involved straw borrowers, false mortgage applications, false Housing and Urban Development (HUD) forms, fraudulent down payments, and false verification forms for the purchase of more than 50 houses in Hartford, New Haven and Middlesex counties. Prosecutors say Serrano served as the closing attorney on at least 24 fraudulent transactions. Specifically, he served as the closing attorney when a co-conspirator purchased properties with financing from private lenders. Later, when the co-conspirator sold many of the properties, Serrano usually represented the buyer. Authorities said that Serrano knew that his accomplice, and not the buyer, had provided the down payment money. In this way, contrary to what Serrano led mortgage lenders to believe, the buyers were purchasing properties with no down payment funds of their own. In the course of many of the fraudulent closings, Serrano received mortgage proceeds from banks and mortgage lenders. ' Christian Nolan, The Connecticut Law Tribune

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CONNECTICUT

Attorney Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A West Hartford, CT, lawyer who took part in a $3.5 million mortgage fraud scheme has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, according to federal prosecutors.

Gabriel R. “Gabe” Serrano was sentenced May 8 by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson. Serrano had previously pleaded guilty last August to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud, a charge that carries a maximum prison term of 30 years, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 10 years. His law license has been suspended since late 2013.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut, from June 2005 to at least November 2008, Serrano was involved in a conspiracy that involved straw borrowers, false mortgage applications, false Housing and Urban Development (HUD) forms, fraudulent down payments, and false verification forms for the purchase of more than 50 houses in Hartford, New Haven and Middlesex counties. Prosecutors say Serrano served as the closing attorney on at least 24 fraudulent transactions. Specifically, he served as the closing attorney when a co-conspirator purchased properties with financing from private lenders. Later, when the co-conspirator sold many of the properties, Serrano usually represented the buyer. Authorities said that Serrano knew that his accomplice, and not the buyer, had provided the down payment money. In this way, contrary to what Serrano led mortgage lenders to believe, the buyers were purchasing properties with no down payment funds of their own. In the course of many of the fraudulent closings, Serrano received mortgage proceeds from banks and mortgage lenders. ' Christian Nolan, The Connecticut Law Tribune

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