Indicted! Mortgage Scam Hits Toxie

A Florida mortgage that was part of Planet Money's toxic asset is now part of a federal indictment.

Here's the headline from the U.S. attorney (apologies for the all-caps):

14 DEFENDANTS CHARGED IN LARGE-SCALE MORTGAGE FRAUD CONSPIRACY INVOLVING OVER $47 MILLION IN LOANS AND 22 RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES IN SARASOTA, FL

According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, which has been following the story for a while now, the alleged fraud was masterminded by a real estate agent named Craig Adams. In a post last year, we described the details:

 

Adams had a group of friends and associates. One would buy a house. Then he'd sell it to another, for a higher price. Then it would get sold again, at a price that was still higher. The sales often wouldn't get listed publicly and Adams would set the prices.

With each sale, someone would take out a loan that was more than big enough pay off the previous loan. The players would split the remaining cash.

One of those mortgages — on a house at 6962 Belgrave Drive — wound up in Toxie. Here's its moment of infamy, straight from the indictment:

We left a message for George and Sylvia Bobka last year, but we never heard back.

For more: Listen to our podcast, "Toxie's Dark Past"