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A New York man was sentenced to 2 to 6 years in prison
Monday for stealing more than $3 million in a mortgage fraud scheme, officials
said.
Sam Hilany of West Hempstead, N.Y. was sentenced Oct. 3 by
Nassau County Court Judge Jerald Carter. Hilany pled guilty in July to
attempted grand larceny in the first degree, a felony and a scheme to defraud
in the first degree, according to Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon.
Hilany has waived his right to appeal and is required to
make full restitution in the amount of $3,136,800, Dillon said Tuesday.
Hilany was the principal architect behind a large identity
theft and mortgage fraud scheme, Dillon said.
The scheme included real estate investors, an attorney, a
title closer and an appraiser, Dillon said.
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"This elaborate identity theft and mortgage fraud
scheme involved stolen identities, paid 'straw borrowers,' falsified
employment, income and asset information, and false property appraisals,"
Dillon said.
In one incident, by erecting a street-level facade at the
site of a structure that had been destroyed by fire, the defendants were able
to obtain a $324,000 mortgage on a building that was merely a burnt-out shell,
Dillon said.
Hilany was both the purchaser and seller of most of the
properties in that scheme, and he was the principal beneficiary of the proceeds
from these transactions, according to Dillon.
The companies in whose names the properties were bought and
sold were in fact corporate names used by Hilany, Dillon said. Hilany found the
properties, did the contracts, arranged for the falsified appraisals, and set
up the closing dates, according to Dillon.
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