Sharmon Howell, the leader of a $10 million mortgage fraud conspiracy, pleaded guilty in New York City Federal Court to one count of conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud.
Howell admitted that between 2006 and 2007, he conspired to defraud banks and mortgage lenders by targeting homeowners facing foreclosure and utilizing “straw buyers” to purchase their properties.
Howell and his co-conspirators then obtained fraudulent appraisals for the homes and misrepresent to mortgage lenders the straw buyers’ financial status and intent to live in the properties. Howell also admitted to inflating the properties’ price. The mortgages received were divided amongst Howell and his co-conspirators.
If convicted, Howell faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.